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BV  4501  .S344 

1905 

Sell,  Henry- 

T. 

1854- 

-1928. 

Studies  in 

the 

life 

of  the 

Christian, 

his  fail 

th  and 

STUDIES       IN       THE 
LIFE  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN 


BIBLE  STUDY  BY  TEXT-BOOKS 

A  New  Method  for  Bible  Classes 
By  HENRY  T.  SELL 

■'  ■■    I        I        ■    ■■         II      I        I  ■  I.  ■■■■■.■■  ■  I  I         ■■■■WJPI.^M 

Ten  Interesting  Studies 

1.  Supplemental  Bible  Studies. 

2.  Bible  Studies  by  Books. 

3.  Bible  Studies  by  Periods. 

4.  Bible  Studies  by  Doctrines. 

5.  Bible  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ. 

6.  Bible  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Paul. 

7.  Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian. 

8.  Studies  in  Eariy  Church  History. 

9.  Bible  Studies  in  Vital  Questions. 
10.  Studies  in  the  Four  Gospels. 


STUDIES     IN     THE 
LIFE  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN 

His  Faith  and  His  Service 


By 
HENRY  T/SELL,  D.  D. 

Author   of  "Supplemental  Bible  Studies"    "Bible  Study  by 

Books,"  "Bible  Study  by  Doctrines"  "Bible  Study  by 

Periods"  "Bible  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Christ," 

"Bible  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Paul" 


New  York        Chicago       Toronto 

Fleming    H.   Revell  Company 

London     and     Edinburgh 


Copyright,   1905,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  17  North  Wabash  Ave. 
London:  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:      75     Princes    Street 


PREFACE 

These  studies  consider  the  questions :  What  did 
Christ  teach  ?  What  is  the  standpoint  of  Christianity  ? 
What  is  a  Christian  ?  What  ought  he  to  beUeve,  and 
why  ?  How  shall  he  regard  the  Bible,  and  the  church  ? 
What  should  be  his  relations  to  God,  to  his  fellow 
men,  to  his  home,  to  society,  to  business,  and  to  the 
state  ? 

The  strength  and  reasonableness  of  the  great  main 
positions  of  Christian  faith  and  service  are  construct- 
ively presented.  Careful  attention  is  also  given  to  the 
practical  application  of  Christian  principles  to  the  per- 
plexing problems  of  modern  life. 

This  book  is  for  use  in  adult  Bible  classes,  Bible 
study  circles,  pastors'  training  classes  in  the  essentials 
of  Christianity,  educational  institutions  and  private 
study. 

It  is  uniform  with  the  author's  "  Bible  Studies  in  the 
Life  of  Christ,"  "Bible  Studies  in  the  Life  of  Paul" 
and  his  other  Bible  study  books. 

HENRY  T.  SELL. 

Chicago. 


CONTENTS 


I.        Christ,  the  Great  Teacher 

9 

II.       The  Christian's  God  . 

19 

HI.      The  Christian  Man     . 

30 

IV.     The  Christian's  Fellow  Man 

42 

V.       The  Christian  Faith  . 

51 

VI.     The  Christian's  Book 

61 

VII.    The  Christian  Prayer 

'      73 

VIII.   The  Christian  Service 

■      87 

IX.      The  Christian  Church 

.      99 

X.       The  Christian  Home   . 

I II 

XI.      The  Christian  Business  World 

124 

XII.    The  Christian  Society 

136 

XIII.   The  Christian  State  . 

.     150 

XIV.  The  Christian's  Hope  . 

»59 

NEW  INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER 

BEING  A  CHRISTIAN. 

If  being  a  Christian  is  worth  anything  it  is  worth 
everything.  We  cannot  be  at  too  much  pains  to  under- 
stand what  it  means  to  ourselves  and  to  others.  In 
this  chapter  we  consider  briefly,  and  open  up  for 
further  study,  four  questions  of  vital  interest — What 
is  a  Christian?  Why  be  a  Christian?  How  be  a 
Christian?    How  Hve  a  Christian  life? 

WHAT  IS   A  CHRISTIAN? 

A  Christian,  according  to  the  New  Testament 
standard,  is  one  who  has  entered  into  certain  per- 
sonal relations  with  Jesus  Christ. — "He  believes  in 
Christ,  considers  what  He  says  is  true,  accepts  His 
claims  for  Himself,  and  counts  His  promises  as  safe 
and  secure."  Outside  the  New  Testament  usage  the 
name  is  often  loosely  used  to  include  those  who  do  not 
profess,  and  sometimes  do  not  desire  to  profess,  any 
allegiance  to  Jesus  Christ. 

A  Christian  is  really  a  Christ-man  as  an  "American 
is  an  American-man.  He  is  not  simply  a  man  who 
does  the  best  he  can  or  tries  to  do  right,  or  does  the 
best  he  knows  how,  or  treats  his  fellow  men  right.    It 


Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

is  like  saying  that  an  American  is  a  man  who  votes  at 
elections  and  does  business  under  a  free  government. 
These  are  true  things  but  they  are  not  what  makes 
him  an  American.  There  are  others  besides  Ameri- 
cans who  do  them.  Of  course  a  Christian  is  expected 
to  do  right  and  the  best  he  knows  how  at  all  times, 
but  that  does  not  make  him  a  Christian."  A  man  may 
treat  his  fellow  men  fairly  and  do  as  near  right  as  he 
can  from  any  number  of  different  motives,  good  or 
bad.  A  Christian  is  one  whose  heart  motive  is  loyalty 
to  Jesus  Christ  and  His  teachings.  Christ  is  his  source 
and  stimulus  of  action. 

The  names  by  which  Christians  were  called,  in 
the  New  Testament  records,  show  their  intimate 
closeness  to  their  Lord.  These  titles  were  "Disciples" 
of  Christ,  "Behevers"  in  Christ,  "Brethren"  in  Christ, 
"Saints"  in  Christ.  These  words  were  summed  up  in 
the  one  word,  Christians,  embodying  the  meaning  in 
them  all.  "The  disciples  were  first  called  Christians  at 
Antioch ;"  Acts  1 1 126. 

Being  a  Christian  consists  in  being  willing  to  let 
Christ  come  into  one's  heart  and  to  dwell  there. — 
It  is  as  simple  as  that.  When  a  man  wills  to  have 
Christ  dwell  in  his  heart,  he  does  not  want  to  do  evil. 
He  is  not  governed  by  outside  motives  of  expediency 
or  fear  of  punishment  or  hope  of  reward — he  is 
motived  by  the  love  of  Christ.  This  is  what  is  meant 
by  "the  message  of  the  free  grace  of  God  in  Christ 
which  makes  guilty  and  despairing  men  happy  and 
blessed."    The  "Indwelling  Christ"  will  put  an  end  io 


New  Introductory  Chapter  3 

discord  in  a  man's  heart,  overcome  the  burden  of  every 
ill,  destroy  the  sense  of  his  guilt  and  despite  the  imper- 
fection of  his  own  acts,  give  him  the  "certitude  of 
being  inseparably  united  with  the  holy  God."  It  is  a 
God  of  grace  with  whom  we  are  reconciled  through 
Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  a  question  of  visions  or  ec- 
stasies or  transports  of  feeling  but  just  belief  now — 
the  beginning,  middle  and  end  of  it  all — that  Christ  can 
do  just  what  He  said  He  could  do — save  men  from 
their  sins  and  give  them  neace  and  joy  of  heart.  This 
s^hrist,  m  bpirit,  is  now  present  in  the  world  and  is 
doing  this  work  every  day.  His  power  to  transform 
the  lives  of  men,  who  invite  Him  into  their  hearts  and 
make  Him  welcome  there,  is  evidenced  everywhere. 
Then  a  Christian  is  one  who  has  entered  into  certain 
personal  and  vital  relations  with  Jesus  Christ  and  one 
with  whom  Christ  has  entered  into  certain  personal 
and  vital  relations.  Make  these  relations  universal 
and  you  have  a  world  transformed. 

WHY  BE  A  CHRISTIAN? 

Become  a  Christian!  Why  not?  It  is  the  most  ef- 
ficient way,  to  do  the  best  with  your  life,  and  the 
quicker  the  decision  is  made,  the  better  it  will  be  for 
the  soul.  Irrespective  of  any  human  agency  there  is  a 
divine  call  in  the  soul,  of  every  one,  to  repent  of  sin 
and  to  trust  in  the  Saviour.  "Christianity  is  not  a 
call  to  pursue  the  ideal ;  rather  Christianity  reveals  the 
astonishing  fact  that  the  ideal  pursues  us.    To  realize 


4  Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

this  is  faith.  To  permit  the  ideal  as  it  is  in  God, 
through  Christ,  to  master  us,  and  to  master  by  it,  is 
the  Christian  life."  We  are  constantly  urged  from 
within  our  own  hearts  to  accept  Jesus  Christ.  As 
Christ  called  men,  to  follow  Him,  when  He  was  upon 
this  earth,  so  He  calls  them  now,  Matthew  g:g;  1 1 :28- 
30 ;  16 :24-26.  Those  who  heeded  His  call  did  not  wait 
until  they  were  better  prepared,  or  more  able  to  fol- 
low Him;  they  accepted  His  gracious  invitation  and 
followed  Him  at  once. 

The  reasons  for  becoming  a  Christian  are  legion. 
Only  a  few  can  be  listed  in  this  brief  space.  Chris- 
tianity is  worth  while,  because : 

It  produces  a  change  of  heart  and  transforms  char- 
acter, John  3:3,  16;  2  Cor.  5:17-21. 

It  gives  the  positive  assurance  that  the  highest  hopes 
and  aspirations  of  a  man  will  be  fulfilled,  John  11 125, 
26;  Matthew  24:35,  45-47. 

It  takes  the  long  look  ahead  and  includes,  in  its 
view,  "the  whole  of  life,  death  and  eternity.  In  all 
ages  the  man  who  determinations  are  swayed  by  the 
most  distant  ends  has  been  held  to  possess  the  highest 
intelligence,"  i  Cor.  3:21-23. 

It  enables  a  man  to  face  the  hard  facts  of  life,  as 
Christ  did,  unflinchingly.  He  becomes  serene,  in  the 
face  of  difficulties,  through  the  power  of  Christ,  in  the 
strengthening  of  his  convictions,  Romans  8 :37-39. 

It  reveals,  in  a  clear  light,  the  things  which  harm 
and  which  help  a  man  in  his  life  upon  this  earth,  Ephe- 
sians  6:10-18. 


New  Introductory  Chapter  5 

It  presents  an  absolute  and  infallible  remedy  for 
the  evils  of  the  world,  which  hinder  human  progress 
and  wreck  men,  John  1:29;  3:16;  i  John  1:7;  Eph. 
I  7;  John  I  :i-i8. 

It  settles  the  question  of  what  authority  man  ought 
to  obey  for  his  well  being  here  and  hereafter,  John 
14:6;  Matthew  28:18;  25:31-46.  Not  only  the  reli- 
gious but  the  moral,  the  social  and  the  political  authori- 
tative teachings  of  Jesus  are  being  more  and  more 
widely  recognized  as  being  essential  to  any  real  up- 
ward progress  of  mankind,  Mark  i  :22 ;  Matthew 
13*31-33;  Acts  1:8. 

HOW  BE  A  CHRISTIAN? 

The  way  to  become  a  Christian  is  not  difficult. — 

There  is  but  little  mystery  about  it,  yet  to  many  this 
way  is  not  one  which  it  is  easy  to  take.  The  fears, 
the  preconceived  notions,  or  imaginings  of  would-be 
travelers,  place  obstacles  in  the  path  which  do  not 
really  exist.  For  instance — One  can  never  be  worthy 
of  eternal  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ — why  then 
wait  until  one  is  better?  No  doing  of  good  works 
can  save  a  man,  through  Jesus  Christ,  for  no  matter 
how  much  he  does  he  can  never  do  enough — why  then 
try  to  do  the  impossible?  No  man  can  ever  know 
enough  of  all  the  things  involved,  which  take  hold 
upon  all  eternity,  why  then  try  for  impossible  knowl- 
edge ?  As  no  two  men  are  ever  made  alike,  exactly,  in 
physical  form,  mentality  or  spirituality — and  no  two 


6  Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

experiences  of  salvation,  through  Christ,  are  ever 
exactly  duplicated — why  then  wait  for  an  exact  dupli- 
cation of  some  one  else's  religious  experience,  which 
will  never  come?  Paul  came  by  one  experience,  Mat- 
thew by  another,  Peter  by  another.  The  chief  thing 
is  to  lay  everything  aside  and  to  simply  accept  the  in- 
vitation of  Jesus — "Follow  Me."  Just  literally  do  it. 
Do  not  wait  for  feeling  before  or  look  for  feeling 
afterwards.  It  is  a  man's  purpose,  or  will,  that  God 
looks  at.  Just  take  Christ,  literally  at  His  word. 
That's  where  in  the  end  every  one,  who  experiences 
Christ,  comes — why  not  do  this  in  the  beginning? 
"Nothing  we  could  ever  do  could  make  us  Christians. 
That  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God.  But  He  is 
under  solemn  covenant  to  forgive  the  man  who 
repents,  to  receive  the  man  who  accepts  Christ,  and  to 
save  all  who  follow  Him.  It  is  by  no  merit  of  ours 
that  this  is  accomplished.  It  is  not  to  pay  us  for  the 
repentance,  or  the  acceptance  or  the  obedience.  It  is 
because  He  wants  to  save  us,  through  Christ,  that  He 
makes  such  simple  conditions."  Jesus  said — "Him 
that  cometh  to  Me  I  will  in  no  wise  cast  out" — ^John 
6:37. 

The  steps  in  the  way  of  becoming  a  Christian  are 
not  many. — Those  who  have  taken  these  steps  are  all 
of  one  accord  in  witnessing  to  the  great  fact  of  their 
salvation  through  Jesus  Christ.  They  cannot  always 
explain  every  step  but  the  chief  thing,  in  their  experi- 
ence, is  that  in  taking  the  steps  they  were  brought  to 
the  desired  goal,    i — To  become  a  Christian  one  must 


New  Introductory  Chapter  7 

accept  Jesus  Christ  as  His  Saviour.  He  must  know 
himself  as  a  sinner,  in  need  of  a  Saviour.  Any  man, 
if  he  is  fair  in  his  examination  of  himself,  knows  that 
he  is  a  sinner.  He  has  come  short  of  doing  that  which 
he  ought  to. have  done.  Hence  the  great  propositions 
in  Romans,  where  Paul  declares  that  all  men  have 
sinned  and  come  short  of  doing  that  which  they  ought 
to  have  done — all  need  a  Saviour — an  all  sufficient 
Saviour  is  found  in  Jesus  Christ.  Jesus,  through  His 
atoning  life  and  death,  saves  not  only  the  sinner  and 
pardons  the  sin  already  committed  but  He  saves  from 
the  power  of  sin.  Sin  will  cease  to  have  control  over 
him.  He  will  come  not  to  want  to  do  the  wrong  thing, 
and,  with  a  new  heart,  he  will  rejoice  in  doing  right. 
2 — To  become  a  Christian  one  must  also  accept  Jesus 
Christ  as  Teacher  and  Master. 

To  sum  up. — "The  steps  by  which  we  become  Chris- 
tians are  very  simple :  repentance  from  sin,  acceptance 
of  Christ  as  Saviour  and  Teacher,  obedience  to  Him 
as  Master.  That's  all.  The  rest  is  God's  part."  Dr. 
McAfee,  in  a  little  book  of  his,  gives  four  facts  and 
asks  four  test  questions  on  this  subject  of  salvation, 
through  Christ :  "First — You  have  sinned  and  are  now 
a  sinner.  Will  you  now  repent  your  sin  and  turn  from 
it?  Second — Christ  offers  to  be  your  Saviour.  Will 
you  accept  His  offer  and  let  Him  save  you  ?  Third — 
Christ  offers  to  be  your  Teacher.  Will  you  now  become 
a  disciple  of  His?  Fourth — Christ  offers  to  be  your 
Master.  Will  you  now  accept  His  offer  and  obey  His 
will  as  He  reveals  it  from  day  to  day?    If  you  say  T 


8  Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

will'  to  these  questions,  you  are  a  Christian,  and  have 
a  right  to  the  name  and  fellowship.  The  matter  need 
not  be  delayed.  You  can  decide  it  all  in  this  moment. 
Will  you  do  it?" 

HOW  LIVE  A  CHRISTIAN  LIFE? 

The  old  idea,  that  a  Christian  was  to  shut  himself 
away  from  the  world,  its  miseries  and  its  problems,  is 
gone.  Christ  never  taught  it.  The  new  idea,  which 
He  tried  to  make  plain  to  His  disciples,  that  a  Chris- 
tian was  not  only  to  commune  with  God  in  prayer,  to 
study  the  Word,  and  be  in  fellowship  with  his  fellow 
Christians,  but  that  also  he  was  to  go  out  and  seek  the 
regeneration  of  individuals,  society  and  the  state — is 
coming  in  with  tremendous  power.  If  one  is  to  live  a 
Christian  life,  he  must  be  a  dynamic  force  in  the  mak- 
ing of  a  new  earth  and  a  new  heaven,  wherein  dwelleth 
righteousness,  through  Jesus  Christ,  his  Lord. 

A  worker  in  any  field  who  desires  his  work  to 
count,  associates  himself  in  an  organization  with  other 
workers  of  a  like  mind.  A  Christian,  who  really 
desires  to  serve  his  Lord,  will  seek  some  church  organ- 
ization with  which  he  may  unite  for  a  more  effective 
service  than  he  could  render  alone.  The  business  of 
the  church  is  the  greatest  and  most  far  reaching  in 
all  the  world. 


STUDY  I 

CHRIST,  THE  GREAT  TEACHER 

Scripture  references:  Matthew  4  : 23 ;  J :  i,  2 ;  y  :  2g ;  i3:S4i 
26 : S5 :  ^S  :  ig,  20 ;  Mark  j  :  21, 22 ;  4:  1,2 ;  6:6;  Luke j" / J / 
//  .•  /  /  ig  :  47  ;  John  6  :  59  ;  7  .•  14  ;  8  :  28. 

THE  FOUNDER  OF  CHRISTIANITY 

The  heart  of  the  Christian  rehgion  is  found  in  Jesus 
Christ.  If  we  desire  to  know  what  Christianity  is  and 
of  what  elements  it  is  composed  we  must  look  to  Him 
and  His  teachings.  He  is  the  great  source  of  our 
knowledge  of  what  God,  man,  sin,  righteousness,  duty 
and  salvation  are. 

Our  interest  in  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  lies 
in  the  fact  that  they  lead  up  to  Him.  We  study  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  because  of  their  vivid 
portrayal  of  His  life,  teachings,  death  and  resurrection. 

With  Jesus  Christ  a  new  era  dawned  for  the  world 
with  new  principles,  ideas  and  aspirations  for  human- 
ity. His  teachings  touch  every  department  of  human 
life  and,  where  they  are  accepted  and  followed,  they 
show  their  marvellous  transforming  power. 

There  can  be  no  more  important  study  than  what 
Jesus  Christ  said  and  did  while  upon  this  earth. 
"  Never  man  spake  like  this  man  "  (John  7 :  46). 

WHAT  CHRIST  TAUGHT 
There  are  five  great  lines  which  His  teachings  fol- 

9 


lo         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

lowed ;  they  have  to  do  with  God,  man,  sin,  salvation 
and  the  future  life. 

The  Right  Relation  of  God  to  Man  and  Man  to 
God. — How  does  God  regard  man?  and,  How  shall 
man  look  upon  God  ?  are  questions  upon  which  the 
best  thought  of  men  in  all  ages  has  been  expended. 
Upon  the  answers  given  have  been  founded  all  sorts 
of  religious  and  philosophical  systems. 

Man  in  this  great  universe  desires  to  know  in  what 
relation  he  stands  to  the  Author  of  it.  Is  man  only  a 
creature  of  fate  ?  What  does  God  care,  great  as  He 
is,  for  one  man  ? 

Jesus  Christ  recognized  this  desire  of  man  to  know 
his  standing  with  God  and  He  proclaimed  not  only  the 
power,  but  the  Fatherhood  of  God.  When  He  taught 
His  disciples  how  to  pray  He  began  His  immortal 
prayer  not  with  "  Great  God  of  the  universe,"  or 
"  Creator  of  all  things,"  but  "  After  this  manner  there- 
fore pray  ye:  Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven" 
(Matthew  6 :  9).     Here  was  a  new  conception  of  God. 

Through  Christ  man  comes  into  personal  relations 
with  God  as  the  Father  (John  16:  27)  who  cares  for 
him  as  a  son.  Man  is  to  love  and  forgive  as  God  loves 
and  forgives  in  this  relation  of  Father  (Matthew  22  :  37; 
6:  14,  15).  Man  is  to  do  all  that  he  does  as  in  the 
sight  of  his  Father  in  heaven  (Matthew  6 :  1-26).  God 
is  made  known  as  supreme  love  (John  3 :  16). 

The  Right  Relation  of  Man  to  Man. — There  are 
many  causes  which  divide  men  into  classes,  castes  and 
nationalities.     Once  divided  men  begin  to  develop  a 


Christ,  The  Great  Teacher  1 1 

class  feeling  and  pride  which  tend  to  deepen  and 
widen  the  gulfs  which  separate  them  from  each 
other. 

With  the  truth  proclaimed  by  Christ  of  the  "  Fa- 
therhood of  God  "  came  also  the  great  truth  of  the 
"  Brotherhood  of  Man."  The  true  relation  of  man  to 
man,  no  matter  what  the  caste,  class,  employment  or 
nationality,  is  that  of  sons  who  have  a  common  fa- 
ther. The  second  great  commandment  given  by 
Christ  is,  "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself" 
(Matthew  22 :  39).  When  He  took  the  example  for 
a  good  neighbour  He  selected  a  Samaritan,  a  man  of 
an  alien  race.  Men  are  naturally  inclined  to  do  good 
to  those  who  treat  them  well  and  whose  help  they 
need;  but  Christ,  in  carrying  out  this  new  law  of 
brotherly  love  said,  "  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them 
that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them  that  hate  you,  and 
pray  for  them  which  despitefully  use  you,  and  perse- 
cute you,  that  ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven  "  (Matthew  5  :  44-48).  It  is  only 
through  this  love  of  man  for  man,  no  matter  what  the 
class  or  condition,  that  right  relations  between  men 
can  ever  be  established  and  maintained. 

The  Right  Relation  of  Man  to  Sin. — Man  violates 
his  sense  of  righteousness  and  justice.  He  trans- 
gresses the  laws  of  God  and  his  nature.  Man's  sin 
is  everywhere  doing  its  destroying  work.  There  is 
individual,  social,  corporate  and  national  sin  (Ro- 
mans 3:23).  This  fact  of  sin  is  not  only  set  forth  in 
the  Bible  in  unmistakable  terms,  but  every  govern- 


12         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

ment  recognizes  it  in  its  laws  and  courts  of  justice. 
Society  puts  up  its  bars  to  protect  itself  against  the 
sinner,  and  all  literature  proclaims  the  evil  results  of 
sin. 

What  ought  to  be  man's  attitude  to  sin  ?  Shall  he 
make  light  of  it  and  call  it  a  necessary  part  of  living  ? 
Shall  he  continue  in  it,  although  he  recognizes  its  evil 
results,  and  draw  others  with  him  into  greater  and 
larger  violations  of  the  laws  of  God  and  man  ? 
These  are  practical  questions.  Some  temporize  with 
sin  and  say,  "  Let  us  lead  outwardly  correct  lives,  but 
within  certain  bounds  we  will  do  as  we  please  " ;  hence 
arises  the  practice  of  secret  sinning. 

Christ  came  declaring  that  man's  relation  to  sin 
should  be  uncompromising.  He  used  vigorous  lan- 
guage in  regard  to  sin.  He  said,  "  Woe  unto  the 
world  because  of  offenses !  for  it  must  needs  be  that 
offenses  come;  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the 
offense  cometh !  Wherefore  if  thy  hand  or  thy  foot 
offend  thee,  cut  them  off  and  cast  them  from  thee  :  it 
is  better  for  thee  to  enter  into  life  halt  or  maimed, 
rather  than  having  two  hands  or  feet  to  be  cast  into 
everlasting  fire"  (Matthew  18:7,  8).  But  Jesus  in 
thus  advocating  heroic  treatment  for  sin  was  but  do- 
ing what  eminent  surgeons  are  advising  every  day  in 
regard  to  certain  dangerous  bodily  diseases.  Jesus 
also  laid  His  finger  on  the  source  of  sin  when  He 
declared,  "  For  out  of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts, 
murders,  adulteries,  fornications,  thefts,  false  witness, 
blasphemies:    these    are  the  things   which   defile  a 


Christ,  The  Great  Teacher  13 

man"  (Matthew  15  :  19).  A  man  must  think  evil 
before  he  does  evil,  and  hence  the  emphasis  which 
Jesus  placed  upon  keeping  the  heart  clean. 

The  Right  Relation  of  Man  to  Salvation. — Man 
feels  his  inclination  to  do  evil  and,  seeing  also  the  deg- 
radation wrought  by  it,  desires  to  be  saved  from  it. 
The  cry  has  gone  up  from  many  hearts  to  be  free  not 
only  from  the  power  of  sin  but  from  the  desire  to 
commit  sin.  No  man  can  save  himself.  He  may 
succeed  in  a  certain  outward  reformation  and  correct- 
ness of  habit  and  speech,  but  he  cannot  control  the 
thoughts  and  inclinations  of  his  own  heart. 

The  special  mission  of  Jesus  Christ  was  to  place 
man  in  the  right  relation  of  salvation  from  his  sins 
and  to  show  Himself  the  Saviour  of  Man.  It  was 
declared  of  Him  before  His  birth,  "  He  shall  save  His 
people  from  their  sins  "  (Matthew  i :  21).  He  said  at 
the  last  supper,  '•  This  is  My  blood  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of 
sins  "  (Matthew  26 :  28).  He  had  power  to  forgive 
sins  (Mark  2 :  10).  He  said  not,  "  I  show  you  the 
way,"  but  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life  " 
(John  14 :  6).  There  is  here  a  mighty  spiritual  power 
which  can  save  man  from  sin  and  can  keep  him  from 
the  desire  to  sin.  It  is  only  as  man  enters  into  per- 
sonal relations  with  Jesus  Christ,  repenting  of  his  sin 
and  having  faith  in  Him,  that  the  burden  of  sin  is 
lifted  from  his  heart  (Matthew  6:33;  1 1  :  28,  30). 

The  Right  Relation  of  Man  to  Death  and  the 
Future  Life. — The  facts  of  death  and  of  what  comes 


14         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

after  cannot  be  set  aside;  they  must  be  faced.  All 
forms  of  religion  and  systems  of  philosophy  have 
striven  to  sustain  and  comfort  men  at  their  trying 
hour  of  need.  The  trouble  has  been,  however,  to  find 
any  certain  ground  of  the  hope  of  a  future  life  upon 
which  to  rest.  No  man  has  been  able  to  do  more 
than  present  a  good  argument,  in  regard  to  the  here- 
after, which  might  or  might  not  be  true. 

But  when  Jesus  Christ  came  He  was  able  to  speak 
with  authority  and  power.  He  plainly,  in  His  descrip- 
tion of  the  last  judgment  scene  (Matthew  25  :  31-46) 
showed  the  relation  of  man's  faith  and  actions  in  this 
world  to  his  state  in  the  world  to  come.  He  declared 
that  a  man  need  have  no  fear  of  death  or  the  here- 
after who  trusted  in  Him.  "  I  am  the  resurrection, 
and  the  life :  he  that  believeth  in  Me,  though  he  were 
dead  yet  shall  he  live :  and  whosoever  liveth  and  be- 
lieveth in  Me  shall  never  die  "  (John  1 1  :  25,  26).  "  In 
My  Father's  house  are  many  mansions,  if  it  were  not 
so  I  would  have  told  you,  I  go  to  prepare  a  place 
for  you  "  (John  14:2).  In  a  supreme  trust  in  Jesus 
Christ  all  dread  of  death  and  the  hereafter  may  be 
taken  away  and  man  may  enter  into  a  right  relation  to 
immortality  in  this  life. 


FORMS  OF  CHRIST'S  TEACHING 

He  used  many  forms  in  placing  the  truth  before 
men.  He  paid  great  regard  to  the  timeliness  and  the 
manner  of  presenting  what  He  had  to  teach.     Upon 


Christ,  The  Great  Teacher  15; 

many  occasions  the  multitudes  were  so  captivated  by 
His  words  and  works  that  they  followed  Him  out  into 
desert  places. 

Direct  Discourse. — The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  a 
good  example  of  this  teaching.  Here  He  taught 
plainly,  (i)  "  The  nature  and  constitution  of  the  King- 
dom" (Matthew  5:  1-16);  in  itself  (blessedness,  vs. 
1-12)  and  in  its  relation  to  the  world  (vs.  13-16). 
(2)  The  law  of  the  kingdom  (Matthew  5  :  17-7:  12); 
general  principles  (vs.  17-20),  the  moral  law  (vs.  21-48), 
religious  duty  (6:  1-18),  and  duty  in  relation  to  the 
world  and  the  good  and  evil  things  in  it  (6:  19- 
7 :  12).  (3)  Invitations  to  enter  the  kingdom  (Matthew 
7:  13-29). 

He  was  equally  plain  in  regard  to  His  own  mis- 
sion. He  declared  Himself  to  be  the  Son  of  God 
and  claimed  equality  with  the  Father  (John  5  :  18-23). 
He  said,  "  I  and  My  Father  are  one  "  (John  10 :  30). 
He  affirmed  His  preexistence  and  that  He  had  glory 
with  the  Father  before  the  world  was  (John  17:5) 
and  whoever  had  seen  Him  had  seen  the  Father  (John 
14 :  9).  At  His  trial,  in  answer  to  the  question  of  the 
High  Priest,  He  declared  that  He  was  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God  (Matthew  26:  63-66).  After  His  resur- 
rection He  told  His  disciples,  in  sending  them  forth  to 
their  mission,  that  all  power  was  given  Him  in  heaven 
and  in  earth  (Matthew  28 :  18-20). 

Parables  (Mark  4:2;  Matthew  13:  3). — Christ 
spoke  in  parables  to  convey  and  send  home  to  the 
hearts  of  His  hearers  the  truth,  just  as  Nathan  em- 


J  6         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

ployed  the  parable  of  the  lamb  in  the  case  of  David 
to  make  him  acknowledge  his  sin.  They  were  adapted 
to  the  capacities  of  His  hearers.  Each  parable  had 
some  great  central  truth. 

The  parables  have  been  classified  as  : 

1.  The  Theoretic,  which  teach  general  truths  con- 
cerning the  kingdom  of  God,  such  as,  "  The  Sower  " 
(Matthew  1 3 :  3-23), "  The  Treasure  "  and  "  The  Pearl " 
(Matthew  1 3  :  44,  45)- 

2.  Grace,  setting  forth  the  divine  goodness  and 
grace  as  the  source  of  salvation  and  law  of  Christian 
hfe,  such  as, "  The  Lost  Coin,"  "  The  Lost  Sheep  "  and 
"The  Lost  Boy"  (Luke  15). 

3.  The  Prophetic  or  Judgment  parables,  which 
proclaim  the  righteousness  of  God  as  the  supreme 
ruler,  rewarding  men  according  to  their  works,  such 
as, "  The  Wicked  Husbandmen  "  (Matthew  21 :  33-41), 
and  "  The  Ten  Virgins  "  (Matthew  25  :  1-13). 

Miracles  (John  3:2;  2:23;  6:2;  Mark  i  :  32-34). 
— Christ  appealed  to  His  works  as  an  evidence  of 
His  divine  mission  (John  10 :  38).  Miracles  are  pos- 
sible, probable  and  credible,  when  we  believe  there  is 
a  personal  God,  who  is  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the 
universe  and  that  He  cares  for  man. 

The  thirty-six  miracles  of  which  an  account  is  given 
in  the  four  gospels  have  been  divided  into  three  classes ; 
their  teaching  is  important : 

I.  The  Nature  miracles  show  the  divinity  of  Christ. 
The  feeding  of  the  five  thousand  men  (Matthew  14: 
15-21)  reveals  His  creative  power,  and  the  stilling  of 


Christ,  The  Great  Teacher  17 

the  storm  on  the  Lake  of  Galilee  (Matthew  8 :  23-27) 
His  divine  command  over  Nature  and  its  forces. 

2.  The  Healing  miracles  reveal  not  only  His 
divinity  but  His  humanity  and  compassion.  They 
set  forth  the  one  being  who  loves  the  human  race 
with  His  whole  heart.  This  class  of  miracles  shows 
the  mission  of  Jesus  to  be  the  extinction  of  sin  and 
disease,  and  the  redemption  of  man,  body  and  soul. 

3.  The  Moral  miracles  are  the  life  of  Christ  and 
its  effect  upon  the  world. 

Example  of  Living  and  Dying,  the  teaching  of  which 
is  elaborated  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles  (Acts  1:8; 
2:  31-41;  13:  23-42;  Philippians  2:  5-1 1;  Colos- 
sians  i :  1 3-20). 

HOW  CHRIST  TAUGHT 

With  Authority  (Matthew  7 :  28,  29 ;  Mark  i  :  22). 
— He  declared  that  "  All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth"  (Matthew  28:  18).  He  did  not 
quote  precedents  but  said,  "  I  say  unto  you." 

With  Persuasiveness  and  Love  (Matthew  1 1  : 
28-30;  19:  13,  14;  John  3:  17;  Luke  9:  56).— Peo- 
ple of  all  classes  gathered  about  Him,  in  the  market- 
places, in  the  fields  and  by  the  seaside.  They  followed 
Him  into  desert  places  to  hear  the  gracious  words  that 
fell  from  His  lips. 

With  Originality  (John  12:  46). — He  taught  a  new 
philosophy  of  sorrow  and  suffering,  a  new  law  of  self- 
sacrifice  and  a  new  law  of  love  for  fallen  humanity. 

With  Promise  (Matthew  28:  20;  John  14:  12-19; 


l8         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

l6:  1-14;  Acts  1 :  4-8). — His  work  He  declared  was 
not  to  end  with  His  resurrection  and  ascension,  but 
was  to  continue.  He  promised  to  endue  His  disciples 
with  power  from  on  high  in  their  task  of  converting  a 
world.  This  promise  of  divine  help  was  also  extended 
to  all  His  disciples  in  their  effort  to  lead  pure  and 
righteous  lives. 

QUESTIONS 
What  can  be  said  about  the  Founder  of  Christianity  and 
His  teachings  ?  What  did  Christ  teach ;  about  the  right 
relation  of  God  to  man,  man  to  man,  man  to  sin,  man  to 
salvation  and  man  to  death  and  the  hereafter  ?  What  can 
be  said  of  the  forms  of  Christ's  teaching ;  direct  discourse 
(give  examples),  parables  (give  the  teaching  of  the  three 
classes),  miracles  (give  the  teaching  of  the  three  classes) 
and  example  of  living  and  dying  ?  How  did  Christ  teach  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  His  authority,  persuasiveness,  original- 
ity and  promise  ? 


STUDY  II 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  GOD 

Scripture  References  :  Genesis  i :  i ;  tf  :  i ;  Exodus  34  :  6,7;  30  : 
j-y ;  Deuteronomy  32:  4.;  33;  sy ;  Isaiah  40:  28;  4^  :  ai ; 
Psalm  go:  2;  14S :  17;  139:  1-12;  John  t:  1-3 ;  i:  18; 
4  :  23,  24  ;  14 :  6~ii ;  Matthew  28  :  ig,  20  ;  Revelation  4  :  ti ; 
22  :  13. 

WHO  IS  GOD? 

How  Shall  We  Think  of  God  ?— "  Upon  the  con- 
ception that  is  entertained  of  God  will  depend  the 
nature  and  quality  of  the  religion  of  any  soul  or  race ; 
and  in  accordance  with  the  view  that  is  held  of  God, 
His  nature,  His  character  and  His  relation  to  other 
beings,  the  spirit  and  the  substance  of  theology  will 
be  determined."  When  one  man  says,  "  I  believe  in 
God  "  he  may  have  in  mind  an  entirely  different  con- 
ception of  God  from  another  man  who  uses  the  same 
expression.  There  is  a  Christian  idea  of  God  and 
there  are  many  non-Christian  ideas  about  God ;  it  is 
the  latter  which  keep  men  from  heartily  engaging  in 
the  service  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Wrong  Conceptions  of  God. — Some  of  these  are  : 

1.  That  He  is  a  blind  fate  or  unknowable  force. 
Personality  is  denied,  and  it  is  asserted  that  this  great 
force  neither  sees,  cares  nor  even  knows  what  men  do 
or  do  not  do. 

2.  Even  if  this  great  force  be  personal,  and  knows 
what  is  going  on  amongst  men,  He  is  perfectly  indif- 
ferent to  right  or  wrong  actions. 

19 


30         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

3.  God  knows  and  sees  all  that  is  going  on,  but  He 
has  wound  up  this  universe  like  a  great  clock.  To 
help  or  succour  any  man  in  his  distress  would  disar- 
range the  whole  system.  Natural  law  must  have  its 
course  ;  it  is  useless  to  pray. 

4.  God  is  revengeful  or  weak;  in  the  first  place 
men  seek  to  keep  out  of  His  way,  in  the  second  they 
do  not  care. 

When  men  adopt  these  wrong  ideas  of  God  and 
cherish  them  they  are  fashioned  after  them  in  life  and 
character.  Here  are  the  stumbling-blocks  which  need 
to  be  removed  before  men,  who  think  this  way,  can  be 
brought  into  sympathy  with  the  Church  of  Christ. 
Man  can  never  come  into  personal  loving  relations 
with  a  Universal  Substance  or  Force,  no  matter  how 
mighty  it  is. 

Right  Conceptions  of  God  are  necessary  for  the 
true  worship  of  the  Almighty,  for  the  exercise  of 
proper  conduct  to  our  fellow  men  and  for  the  upbuild- 
ing of  our  own  spiritual  life.  Never  was  there  a  time 
when  the  great  fundamental  positions  of  the  Bible,  in 
regard  to  God,  needed  to  be  more  plainly  stated  than 
to-day.  When  men  stand  firmly  upon  these  positions 
a  whole  host  of  perplexities  and  anxieties  will  take 
their  departure. 

The  Christian  Conception  of  God  has  been  thus 
expressed,  "  God  is  the  Personal  Spirit,  perfectly  good, 
who  in  holy  love,  creates,  sustains  and  orders  all,"  The 
essential  matters  covered  in  this  statement  are : 

I.     The  nature  of  God.     He  is  the  Personal  Spirit 


The  Christian's  God  21 

(Exodus  3:  14;  John  4:  24)  who  can  enter  into  per- 
sonal relations  with  man,  and  who  hears  and  answers 
prayer. 

2.  The  character  of  God.  He  is  perfectly  good, 
pure  and  holy  (Psalm  25  :  8 ;  Nahum  1:7;  Romans 
2:4).  Man  may  have  perfect  confidence,  however 
matters  may  seem  to  him  to  go  wrong  with  his  imper- 
fect vision  of  the  world  and  the  happenings  in  it,  that 
there  is  a  good  God  who  governs  all  in  the  interest  of 
righteousness  (Matthew  13:  24-30,  36-43)- 

3.  The  relation  of  God  to  all  other  existences.  He 
creates,  sustains  and  orders  all  (Genesis  i :  i ;  Psalm 

19). 

4.  The  motive  of  God  in  His  relation  to  all  other 

existence;  it  is  holy  love  (i  John  4:  8). 

Supreme  power,  personality,  intelligence  and  perfect 
goodness  are  then  the  great  revealed  truths  which  the 
Bible  presents  to  us  as  the  proper  conceptions  which 
we  should  have  of  God. 

But  if  it  is  desired  to  know  what  God  is  like  we  look 
at  once  to  Jesus  Christ.  He  is  supreme  intelligence. 
He  has  power  over  nature  and  men  and  He  uses  all 
with  the  motive  and  purpose  of  a  holy  love.  We 
know  that  He  controlled  nature,  when  on  earth,  and 
not  nature  Him.  He  taught  the  great  love  of  God  for 
man.  He  made  it  plain  that  men  were  not  in  a  rela- 
tion as  atoms  of  matter  in  a  whirlpool  of  action,  but 
as  sons  to  a  loving  father. 


22         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

GOD  IS  SUPREME 

Qod's  Attitude  to  the  Universe. — The  Scriptures  are 
consistent  in  the  statement,  many  times  made,  that 
God  is  the  source  of  all  things.  He  brings  all  things 
into  being  and  sustains  all  by  the  word  of  His  power. 
His  is  a  work  of  perpetual  administration.  But  God 
is  not  wholly  occupied  in  conducting  the  affairs  of  the 
universe,  neither  does  it  exhaust  His  possibilities 
(Psalm  8:i;  148:13).  He  is  greater  than  the  uni- 
verse. God,  says  Dr.  Clarke,  in  his  "Outline  of 
Christian  Theology,"  is  like  the  spirit  of  a  man  in  his 
body,  which  is  greater  than  his  body,  able  to  direct 
his  body,  and  capable  of  activities  that  far  transcend 
the  physical  realm.  God  is  a  free  spirit,  personal, 
self-directing,  unexhausted  by  His  present  activities. 
This  statement  affirms  both  the  immanence  and  the 
transcendence  of  God.  By  the  immanence  of  God  is 
meant  that  He  is  everywhere  and  always  present  in 
the  universe,  nowhere  absent  from  it,  never  sepa- 
rated from  its  life.  By  His  transcendence  is  meant — 
not  as  is  sometimes  represented — that  He  is  outside 
and  views  the  universe  from  beyond  and  above,  but 
that  He  is  not  shut  up  in  it  or  limited  by  it,  not  re- 
quired in  His  totality  to  maintain  and  order  it.  By 
both  together  is  meant  that  He  is  a  free  spirit  inhab- 
iting the  universe,  but  surpassing  it,  immanent  as 
always  in  the  universe,  and  transcendent,  as  always 
independent  of  its  limitations  and  able  to  act  upon  it. 

God's  Attitude  to  Man. — God  has  not  only  placed 
man  at  the  head  of  the  animal  world,  but  has  endowed 


The  Christian's  God  23 

him  with  qualities  which  make  him  its  lord  and  mas- 
ter. God  is  more  than  the  Creator  of  man.  He  is 
his  Father,  Saviour  and  Friend. 

God  comes  to  man  in  the  attitude  of  The  Supreme 
Spiritual  Being,  approaching  a  spiritual  being  who  is 
of  priceless  value.  Jesus  Christ  makes  this  truth  very- 
plain.  He  everywhere  teaches  the  great  worth  of  the 
life  of  a  man  and  that  God  is  seeking  to  come  directly 
into  touch  with  this  life  which  is  so  precious  in  His 
sight  (John  3  :  16;  Matthew  10:  30,  31).  This  life  is 
not  the  physical  but  the  spiritual  which  is  the  real  life 
of  a  man,  "  Not  what  one  has,  but  what  one  is,  gives 
the  true  measure  of  a  man."  He  said,  "  For  what 
shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  ex- 
change for  his  soul  ?  "  (Mark  8  :  36,  37).  "  Is  not 
the  life  more  than  meat  and  the  body  than  raiment  ?  " 
(Matthew  6  :  25).  "  In  harmony  with  this  view  of  the 
worth  of  life,"  Professor  Stevens  in  "  The  Theology  of 
the  New  Testament,"  says,  "  Jesus  taught  that  the  most 
humble  and  insignificant  person,  on  whom  men  set  no 
value,  is  precious  in  the  sight  of  God.  These  little 
ones,  be  they  children  or  humble  believers,  are  not  the 
despised  (Matthew  18  :  10).  The  least  important  per- 
son who  goes  astray  from  goodness  excites  the  pity 
and  solicitude  of  God,  and  He  seeks  him  and  brings 
him  back  as  the  shepherd,  leaving  his  ninety-nine 
sheep,  goes  into  the  mountains  in  eager  search  after 
the  one  that  has  wandered  away  "  (Luke  15  14). 

The  hope  of  everlasting  life  is  bound  up  with  the 


24         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

recognition  by  man  of  the  priceless  value  of  the  spirit- 
ual life  and  of  the  necessity  of  his  coming  into  har- 
mony (in  thought,  will  and  action)  with  God's  plans  for 
him  (John  1/  :  3;  Luke  12  :  16-21 ;  John  1:4;  3:15, 
34-36;  6:35,47;  14:6). 

"  GOD  IS  THE  PERSONAL  SPIRIT " 
"  God  is  Spirit,"  these  words  of  Christ,  uttered  to  the 
Samaritan  woman  (John  4  :  24),  have  reference  to  the 
nature  of  God  and  show  us  how  we  are  to  think  of 
Him.  He  is  not  Hmited  to  a  particular  place  of  wor- 
ship, but  is  to  be  worshipped  "  in  spirit  and  in  truth  " 
(John  4:  23). 

When  we  speak  of  a  spirit  we  mean  a  being  who 
has  intelligence  and  will ;  one  who  thinks,  feels  and 
wills.  God  the  great  intelligence  and  will  can  enter 
into  communication  with  man  who,  while  he  has  a 
body,  has  also  a  spirit  possessing  intelligence  and  a 
will.  We  need  not  define  the  difference  between  God 
and  matter,  "  if  only  we  give  full  weight  to  this  vital  and 
practical  difference,  that  He  is  one  who  thinks  and 
feels  and  wills.  The  composition  of  spirit  we  may 
never  understand,  but  this  is  the  action  of  spirit  and 
this  is  intelligible."  God  is  everywhere  represented  in 
the  Scriptures  as  exercising  intelligence  and  will 
(Genesis  1:1,  2;  6:3;  Job  26:7-14;  38:1-41; 
Psalm  2  ;  19 ;  72  ;  Isaiah  61:1;  Mark  10  :  27 ;  12  :  27 ; 
John  3  :  34 ;  Acts  3  :  26). 

God  is  Personal. — Personality  has  two  characteris- 
tics ;  self-consciousness  and  self-direction.    When  it  is 


The  Christian's  God  25 

said  that  God  is  personal,  the  meaning  is  that  He 
knows  Himself  as  God  and  directs  His  own  actions. 
In  the  Bible  He  is  represented  as  saying  "  I "  (Exodus 
20  :  2 ;  3:14)  and  as  directing  all  things.  Personality 
does  not  limit  God.  He  is  the  one  perfect  personality. 
Personality  in  man  exists  only  in  a  more  or  less  im- 
perfect degree.  Personality  is  understood  here  not  as 
"  bodily,"  but  as  belonging  to  the  spirit. 

GOD  IS  GOOD 
The  Character  of  God  is  a  subject  of  great  impor- 
tance to  man,  God  is  the  Supreme  Personal  Spirit,  yet 
to  know  only  this  is  to  leave  out  a  very  vital  part  in 
our  estimation  or  knowledge  of  God.  We  desire  to 
know  and  feel  that  God  is  not  only  the  greatest,  but 
the  best  being  in  the  universe.  Hence  God  is  shown 
to  us  in  the  Bible  to  be  inwardly  perfect  and  outwardly 
consistent  with  this  perfection.  The  Old  Testament 
shows  a  struggle  between  God  and  man ;  God  seeking 
to  bring  man  to  the  thinking  of  right  thoughts  and 
doing  of  right  actions  and  man  resisting  Him.  The 
history  of  Israel  is  a  story  of  a  nation  whom  God 
would  make  a  righteous  people ;  all  the  laws  given  to 
it,  civil,  sanitary  and  ceremonial,  were  with  the  end  in 
view  to  make  it  "  a  holy  nation  " ;  all  its  prophets  and 
teachers  proclaim  the  righteous  and  just  character  of 
God  (Exodus  19 : 6 ;  Leviticus  1 1  :  45  ;  19 :  2 ;  20 : 7, 8  ; 
Numbers  15:40;  Deuteronomy  14:2,  21;  Joshua 
24:19;  Psalm  22:3;  99:3;  111:9;  Isaiah  6:3; 
57: 15).     In  Jesus  Christ  and  His  life  upon  earth  we 


26         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

see  the  goodness  of  God  in  its  largeness.  "  In  His  gos- 
pel holiness  is  the  ideal,  the  substance  of  Christian 
character  and  the  end  in  view  in  Christian  experience." 
He  says,  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  '•  Be  ye  there- 
fore perfect,  even  as  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  is 
perfect "  (Matthew  5  :  48). 

In  Christ  we  have  the  one  perfect  ideal  of  moral  ex- 
cellence. In  Him  we  can  see  what  goodness  in  God 
means  (John  14:9). 

The  standard  for  the  conduct  of  man  is  that  of  God's 
goodness,  righteousness  and  truth ;  this  is  not  a  double 
one — the  Old  and  the  New  Testament — but  a  single 
one  and  appHcable  to  all  men  of  all  races  and  climes. 

"  If  sin  exists  holiness  in  God  must  absolutely  and 
forever  oppose  it.  From  the  holiness  in  God's  charac- 
ter we  can  understand  His  righteousness  and  justice. 
The  man  who  does  evil  sets  his  will  against  God's  will 
and  against  the  principle  upon  which  He  conducts  the 
universe.  Such  a  man  has  placed  himself  where  he 
must  either  turn  back  and  forsake  his  sin  or  take  the 
inevitable  consequences  of  resisting  the  purpose  which 
God  is  fulfilling." 

God's  love  for  man  is  bound  up  with  His  goodness. 
God,  foreseeing  the  fearful  consequences  of  man's 
sinning,  seeks  in  every  way  to  warn  and  turn  him 
back  from  the  evil  way.  He  knows  the  great  worth 
of  the  soul  and  desires  to  save  it  to  everlasting  joy 
(John  3:  17;  Luke  9:  5^;  John  14:  1-3). 


The  Christian's  God  27 

GOD'S  MANIFESTATION 
The  Manifestation  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ. — Paul 

says,  "  when  the  fullness  of  time  was  come,  God  sent 
forth  His  Son"  (Galatians  4:4);  "  That  at  the  name 
of  Jesus  every  knee  should  bow,  of  things  in  heaven, 
and  things  in  earth,  and  things  under  the  earth ;  and 
that  every  tongue  should  confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father  "  (Philippians 
2:  10,  II). 

This  personal  manifestation  of  God  in  Christ  is  in 
perfect  harmony  with  the  nature  and  character  of  God 
as  we  know  Him  through  the  Scriptures.  This  mani- 
festation of  God  is  not  only  subject  to  a  historical  test, 
but  may  also  be  made  the  subject  of  a  personal 
experience  test,  •'  If  any  man  will  do  His  will  he  shall 
know  of  the  doctrine  "  (John  7:  17).  Soon  after  the 
resurrection  and  ascension  of  Jesus  the  disciples,  who 
had  been  with  Jesus  when  He  was  upon  earth,  began 
to  urge  others  to  make  a  test  of  personal  experience 
in  regard  to  the  manifestation  of  God  in  Christ  (Acts 
2:  14,  31-47;  3:  19-21;  7:  56).  Paul,  who  had  a 
special  experience  (Acts  9 :  1-8),  preached  this  test  of 
personal  experience  throughout  the  Roman  Empire. 
Ever  since  those  early  times  there  has  been  the  same 
urgent  appeal  for  men  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  God 
through  Jesus  Christ  and  to  make  the  test  not  only 
historical,  but  one  of  personal  experience. 

The  "Threefold  Self-manifestation  of  God."— 
Christ  in  instructing  His  disciples  after  His  resurrec- 
tion, said,  "  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations,  bap- 


28         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

tizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  "  (Matthew  28  :  19). 

In  the  Old  Testament  we  have  the  manifestation  of 
God  as  the  one  living  God  of  all.  He  was  specially 
known  as  the  God  of  Israel  in  preparing  that  nation 
for  the  great  part  it  had  in  the  divine  economy. 

In  the  New  Testament  Christ  is  recognized  by  His 
followers — and  so  taught  Himself — as  the  personal 
manifestation  of  God,  to  whom  divine  honour  was 
and  is  to  be  given.  Christ  told  His  followers  that  He 
would  "  pray  the  Father  and  He  shall  give  you 
another  Comforter,  that  He  may  abide  with  you  for- 
ever "  (John  14 :  16).  This  Comforter  (16:7-15),  the 
Holy  Spirit,  would  guide  them  into  all  truth. 

The  Holy  Spirit,  upon  whom  they  were  to  wait  for 
His  manifestation  (Acts  i :  8),  came  in  wonderful 
power  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost  (Acts  2 :  1-4),  thus 
beginning  the  great  work  which  was  to  spread  around 
the  world.  When  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  ready  for 
their  large  missionary  task,  the  Holy  Spirit  called  them 
to  it  (Acts  13:2).  The  early  Church  felt  the  presence 
of  that  mighty  indwelling  Holy  Spirit.  "  As  God 
Himself  had  come  in  the  Son  so  it  was  felt  that  He 
had  come  in  the  Spirit.  The  one  God  of  all  known 
to  the  fathers,  had  manifested  Himself  in  the  divine 
human  Christ,  and  in  the  invisible  Spirit  of  truth  and 
life.     Both  was  His  and  yet  each  was  truly  Himself." 

QUESTIONS 
Who  is  God  ?    How  shall  we  think  of  Him  ?    Give  some 


The  Christian's  God  29 

of  the  wrong  conceptions  of  God.  What  can  be  said  of  the 
right  conceptions  of  God  ?  What  is  the  Christian  concep- 
tion of  God  ?  How  can  we  know  what  God  is  like  ?  What 
is  God's  attitude  to  the  universe  and  to  man  ?  What  do  we 
mean  when  we  say,  that  "  God  is  a  Spirit  "  ?  How  is  God 
personal  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  character  of  God  ? 
How  is  God  manifested,  in  Christ,  and  in  the  threefold  mani- 
festation ? 


STUDY  III 

THE  CHRISTIAN  MAN 

Scripture  references:  Genesis  i:  26-28;  2:  7/  g:  6;  jfobj^:^; 
Psalm  100:  3;  8:  4--g ;  Ecclesiastes  y  :  sg  ;  Acts  17:26-28; 
I  Corinthians  11 :  7  /  Ephesiajis  4 :  24 ;  Colossians  j  .•  10 ; 
J  Corinthians  75  .■  4^  ;  Hebrews  2  :  6,  7  /  Ephesians  6 :  10-18  ; 
I  Corinthians  2  :  g. 

WHAT  IS  MAN? 

What  Shall  We  Think  of  Man?— Who  is  he? 
What  is  his  place  on  the  earth  and  in  the  universe  ? 
What  is  his  destiny  ?  He  is  of  necessity  an  object  of 
thought.  He  is  the  subject  of  natural  laws,  instincts 
and  passions.  How  far  is  he  free ;  how  far  bound  ? 
How  is  he  linked  with  the  physical  and  the  spiritual 
worlds  ?  These  and  a  host  of  other  questions  press 
upon  us  for  answers,  when  we  begin  to  think  about 
man  and  his  destiny. 

Taken  in  detail  the  inquiries  lead  investigators  in 
many  different  directions  and  result  in  many  con- 
tradictory systems  of  thought.  Taken,  however,  in 
a  general  practical  way  all  questions  about  man  may 
be  considered  from  two  standpoints  ;  the  physical  and 
the  spiritual.  The  danger  is  in  making  the  physical 
alone  interpret  the  spiritual  and  in  declaring  that 
"  man  is  simply  a  ripple  on  the  sea  of  human  events 
and  human  life,  merely  on  episode  marking  a  par- 
ticular stage  in  the  cooling  of  a  nebula."  This  method 
of  interpretation  leads  to  the  ruling  out  of  any  per. 

30 


The  Christian  Man  31 

sonal  responsibility  on  the  part  of  man  for  his  thoughts 
or  actions,  the  obliteration  of  the  distinction  between 
right  and  wrong  and  the  denial  of  a  personal  God  and 
personal  immortality. 

The  right  standpoint  from  which  to  consider  the 
many  questions  about  man,  as  he  appears  upon  this 
earth,  is  that  of  a  personal  spiritual  being  with  a 
physical  body.  There  is  here  no  denial  of  the  phys- 
ical part  of  man,  but  it  is  made  subordinate  to  the 
spiritual.  Man  is  personal  and  responsible  for  his 
thoughts  and  conduct ;  upon  this  conception  of  man 
is  founded  human  society  and  the  state.  Man  is  spir- 
itual, knowing  the  distinction  between  right  and  wrong, 
capable  of  knowing  God  who  is  The  Personal  Spirit 
and  looking  forward  to  a  personal  immortality. 

The  Christian  Thought  of  Man  recognizes  him 
as  a  personal  spiritual  being  with  a  physical  body ;  he 
has  large  responsibilities,  and  a  great  destiny  to  attain 
— if  he  so  wills. 

There  are  six  heads  under  which  the  Christian  con- 
ception of  man  may  be  considered  : 

I.  Man  is  mortal  (Psalm  90:  5,  10;  Ecclesiastes 
12:  5).  The  physical  part  of  man  is  quite  definitely 
limited  in  years.  His  body  is  formed  of  the  same  ele- 
ments as  that  of  any  other  animal  and  is  subject  to  the 
law  of  decay  and  death.  This  linking  of  man  with, 
what  we  call,  the  material  universe  is  asserted  at  the 
very  opening  of  the  Bible  (Genesis  2 :  7).  Man  is  a 
member  of  a  race  of  men  with  all  that  this  member- 
ship implies  (Acts  17  :  26). 


32         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

2.  Man  is  immortal  (i  Corinthians  15:53,  54). 
The  physical  body  is  the  house  of  the  spirit  of  man. 
All  the  appeals  in  the  Scriptures  are  addressed  to  this 
personal  spirit  of  man  (Matthew  6:  25,  33;  John 
14 :  1-4).  There  is  in  the  New  Testament  a  great 
forward  look  to  the  things  that  shall  come  to  pass 
after  the  passing  away  of  the  physical  body  (Matthew 
25  :  31-46;  Revelation  21,  22). 

3.  Man  is  a  moral  being  (Romans  2  :  14, 1 5).  There 
is  a  law  of  conscience  impressed  upon  man  when  he 
comes  into  the  world,  which  makes  him  a  moral  being 
capable  of  distinguishing  between  right  and  wrong. 
Man  knows  when  he  sins  against  the  law  of  his  con- 
science. 

4.  Man  is  a  responsible  being  (Romans  2 :  i-i  i). 
He  is  self-conscious  and  self-determining.  He  knows 
himself  as  himself  and  he  can  determine  his  actions ; 
it  is  these  characteristics  which  make  him  responsible 
for  his  sins.  He  has  the  power  of  choice  and  in  will- 
ing to  do  right  or  wrong  he  brings  the  consequences 
of  his  doing  upon  himself. 

5.  Salvation  for  man  is  through  Jesus  Christ. 
Man  sins  and  violates  his  moral  nature ;  he  feels  the 
responsibility  for  his  sin ;  he  desires  forgiveness  for  his 
sin  and  to  be  freed  from  its  power  over  his  spiritual 
nature  (Romans  7:23,  24).  But  he  finds  no  earthly 
help.  Such  help  can  come  to  man  only  through  a 
spiritual  being  who,  subject  to  all  the  assaults  of  sin 
(Matthew  4 :  i-i  i),  has  triumphed  over  them  all  (Ro- 
mans 8  :  1-4;  2  Corinthians  5  :  21).    Jesus  Christ,  the 


The  Christian  Man  33 

manifestation  of  God  the  Father,  is  the  Spiritual  Being 
through  whom  man  can  receive  forgiveness  for  sin 
(Luke  5  :  23,  24 ;  Acts  2  :  38 ;  1 3  :  38.  39 ;  16  :  30,  31). 
6.  Large  possibilities  are  everywhere  asserted  for 
man  in  the  Scriptures.  This  earthly  life  is  looked 
upon  as  the  beginning  of  a  greater  and  fuller  life 
(i  Corinthians  13:9,  12).  Yet  in  doing  the  will  of 
God  man  may  even  here  enter  upon  a  Ufe  full  of  joy 
(Hebrews  12:  i,  2). 


MAN  MADE  IN  THE  IMAGE  OF  GOD 
The  Statement  of  the  Case. — In  Genesis  i :  26  we 
are  told  that  God  said,  "  Let  us  make  man  in  our  im- 
age, after  our  likeness."  In  Genesis  2  :  7  the  narrative 
relates,  "  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man  of  the  dust 
of  the  ground  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
of  life  and  man  became  a  living  soul "  (see  Psalm 
8  :  4-8).  These  passages  have  a  great  representative 
character  and  the  truth  expressed  in  them  has  lived 
and  will  live  under  all  theories  of  the  appearance  of 
man  upon  this  earth.  In  the  Bible  man  is  shown  as 
the  latest  and  highest  creation  of  God,  the  last  and  best 
of  His  work  in  the  animal  world,  but  with  a  difference 
that  is  world-wide  between  him  and  the  brute  creation. 
Here  is  an  animal,  coming  up  out  of  the  dust,  en- 
dowed with  spiritual  qualities  which  place  him  not 
only  at  the  head  of  the  animal  kingdom,  but  dominat- 
ing it.  The  most  radical  evolutionist  must  admit  that 
man  is  the  last  in  the  list  of  uplifts  in  the  animal 


34         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

world,  that  he  has  qualities  which  elevate  him  far 
above  it  and  by  which  he  dominates  it.  Somewhere 
back  there,  again,  he  must  admit  that  there  came  a 
change  and  the  dust-born  animal  was  changed  into  a 
God-born  soul.  The  great  truth  then  remains,  man  is 
an  animal  but  endowed  with  a  growing  marvellous 
self-conscious,  self-determining  personality.  As  the 
Bible  is  a  progressive  revelation,  showing  us  more  and 
more  the  greatness  of  spiritual  truths,  it  represents 
man  as  starting  from  no  high  plane  of  civilization  and 
as  a  learner  through  the  ages.  Man  is  even  now  in 
the  process  of  making ;  he  has  not  yet  come  to  his 
best  estate. 

The  Image  of  God. — What  is  the  likeness  of  God  ? 
"  God  is  Spirit"  (John  4:  24)  and  that  part  of  man 
which  counts  is  his  spiritual  kinship  to  God. 

Man's  intelligence,  moral  nature  and  will  constitute 
"  the  image  of  God  "  in  him  and  make  it  possible  for 
him  to  come  into  communication  with  God  and  to 
occupy  his  unique  place  in  the  universe.  Only  a  per- 
son can  understand  a  person. 

"  Man  is  dear  to  God  because  he  is  like  Him.  Vast 
and  glorious  as  it  is,  the  sun  cannot  think  God's 
thoughts ;  can  fulfill  but  cannot  intelligently  sympa- 
thize with  God's  purposes.  Man,  alone  among  God's 
works,  can  enter  into  and  approve  of  God's  purpose 
in  the  world  and  can  intelligently  fulfill  it.  Without 
man  the  whole  material  universe  would  have  been 
dark  and  unintelligible,  mechanical  and  apparently 
without    any    sufficient    purpose.     Matter,    however 


The  Christian  Man  35 

fearfully  and  wonderfully  wrought,  is  but  the  platform 
and  material  in  which  spirit,  intelligence  and  will,  may 
fulfill  themselves  and  find  development." 

The  Bible  seeks  to  show  men  in  how  many  ways 
they  resemble  God  and  to  urge  them  to  be  worthy  of 
their  likeness  to  God,  There  is  a  certain  philosophy 
on  the  other  hand,  sometimes  called  "  the  dirt  phi- 
losophy," which  seeks  to  show  men  in  how  many 
ways  they  resemble  the  brute  and  to  urge  them  to 
live  the  life  of  the  brute. 

But  a  great  practical  question  which  demands  an 
answer  of  us — as  we  look  out  upon  the  world  of  men 
taking  them  as  they  are — is,  Did  God  make  the  evil 
man  "  in  His  likeness  "  as  well  as  the  good  man  ? 

The  Good  Man. — The  best  things  bear  the  stamp 
of  their  maker.  If  a  good  judge  of  pictures  is  taken 
into  some  famous  art  gallery  it  is  not  necessary  to 
point  out  to  him  the  excellencies  of  the  paintings, 
they  tell  their  own  story.  There  are  men  in  the  Bible 
who  manifestly  bear  the  image  of  God;  Abraham, 
Isaac,  Enoch,  Moses,  David,  John,  Paul  and  others. 
There  have  been  many  men  in  ancient  and  modern 
times  who,  when  some  great  crisis  has  come  in  the  state 
or  church,  have  conducted  themselves  as  men  born  in 
the  image  of  God  ;  men  who  have  sacrificed  their  own 
interests  to  be  loyal  to  the  truth.  We  all  recognize 
such  men  as  God-born. 

The  Evil  Man. — The  difficult}MS  however  to  recog- 
nize any  image  of  God  in  a  certain  class  of  evil  men 
who  have  low  instincts   and   desires ;    men   who  lie. 


36         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

cheat,  steal  and  break  every  commandment  of  God 
and  man. 

Did  God  make  the  worst  and  the  lowest  of  men  ? 
If  we  are  to  consider  fairly  the  question  of  the  mak- 
ing of  man  in  the  image  of  God  we  must  not  shun 
this  problem,  which  the  vilest  of  men  and  the  most 
degraded  savage  presents.  What  can  be  seen  in  these 
men  that  reminds  us  of  "  the  Hkeness  of  God  "  ?  We 
are  to  judge  men,  however,  by  what  they  are  capable 
of  and  are,  at  their  best,  rather  than  at  their  worst. 
The  art  world  regards  Michael  Angelo's  statue  of 
Moses  as  one  of  the  greatest  creations  of  the  sculptor's 
genius.  Suppose,  however,  some  one  should  maU- 
ciously  deluge  this  masterpiece  with  ink,  smash  it  into 
fragments  with  a  huge  hammer,  and  then  ask  as  he 
looked  upon  the  marred  and  blackened  bits  of  marble, 
"  Is  that  a  masterpiece  of  Michael  Angelo's  genius  ?  " 
So  we  look  upon  a  man  who  has  been  marred  and 
broken  by  sin  and  ask  the  question,  "  Was  that  man 
created  in  the  image  of  God  ?  Lo,  this  only  have  I 
found,  that  God  hath  made  man  upright ;  but  they 
have  sought  out  many  inventions."  Trace  back  the 
cause  of  the  degradation  of  the  individual  or  society 
or  state  and  we  always  find  the  root  to  be  in  some 
transgression  of  a  righteous  law  of  God. 

The  Bible  uniformly  asserts  that  God  is  not  the 
author  of  sin  or  man's  fall  into  evil  ways,  but  that  he 
has  sufficient  light  to  follow  right  ways,  if  he  will. 
But  that  an  evil  man  has  this  marvelous  heritage  of 
being  God-born  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  even  when 


The  Christian  Man  37 

he  has  marred  "  the  hkeness  of  God  "  in  him,  by  sin, 
beyond  human  recognition  there  is  still  a  possibility  of 
its  being  restored.  Jesus  Christ  said,  "  For  the  Son 
of  man  is  come  to  seek  and  save  that  which  was  lost " 
(Luke  19:  10;  Matthew  15:24;  Luke  15:4);  the 
most  evil  men  came  to  Him  and,  confessing  their  sins, 
were  brought  back  into  sonship  with  God.  The  in- 
centive to  Christian  work,  in  the  slums  of  the  cities, 
amongst  the  most  degraded  savages  and  everywhere,  is 
the  finding  of  men  broken  and  marred  by  sin  and  the 
possibility  of  bringing  them  back  to  God. 

God  disapproves  the  sin  but  loves  the  sinner.  "  God 
commended  His  love  towards  us  in  that  while  we  were 
yet  sinners  Christ  died  for  us  "  (Romans  5  :  8-11). 

THE  CHIEF  END  OF  MAN 

The  Bible  declares  the  divine  origin  and  the  divine 
destiny  of  man,  and  that  he  was  made  in  the  image  of 
God  and  for  His  glory. 

A  Threefold  Obligation  rests  upon  man  to  serve 
and  glorify  God, 

"I.     On  account  of  his  creation  by  God,  the  Father. 

"  2.     On  account  of  his  redemption  by  God,  the  Son. 

"  3.  On  account  of  his  regeneration  and  sanctifica- 
tion  by  God,  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  Great  Concern  of  Man  should  be  conformity 
with  the  divine  likeness  (John  5  :  30 ;  Matthew  6:  10, 
33;  16:26;  Romans  14:8;  i  Corinthians  10:31). 
"  Be  not  conformed  to  this  world :  but  be  ye  trans- 
formed by  the  renewing  of  your  mind,  that  ye  may 


38         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

prove  what  is  that  good  and  acceptable  and  perfect 
will  of  God"  (Romans  12:  2),  It  is  only  when  man 
succeeds  in  bringing  his  will  to  do  God's  will  and 
makes  God's  plan  his  plan  of  life  that  he  comes  to  his 
best  and  highest  estate.  The  world  is  full  of  sin  and 
misery,  and  there  are  many  burdens  heavy  to  be 
borne,  because  man  insists  upon  having  his  way  in- 
stead of  seeking  God's  way.  Many  great  civilizations 
have  gone  down  and  many  forms  of  society  have  been 
disrupted  because,  in  them,  man  strove  to  set  up  his 
glory,  rather  than  God's  glory,  as  the  standard  to  be 
striven  for.  Man  has  repeatedly  attempted  to  attain 
to  « the  dominion  "  promised  him  only  to  fail  because 
he  has  desired  such  "  dominion "  to  spend  it  upon 
himself.  God  desires  to  crown  man  with  glory  and 
honour  and  to  do  exceedingly  large  things  for  him,  the 
Scriptures  are  filled  with  great  promises,  but  man  only 
grasps  at  the  shadow  of  power,  when  he  might  have 
the  substance.  All  great  inventions  and  discoveries 
but  point  to  still  greater  ones,  when  man  shall  be  fitted 
by  spiritual  grace  and  goodness  to  be  intrusted  with 
them.  The  kingdom  of  heaven  must  come  in  man's 
heart  before  any  great  material  or  spiritual  advance- 
ment can  come  in  the  world.  Education,  commerce, 
art,  science,  in  all  their  majesty  of  strength,  can  never 
do  what  the  Christian  religion  can  do  for  men  when  it 
shall  succeed  in  getting  them  to  seek  to  be  conformed 
to  "  the  divine  likeness  "  :  this  is  a  truth  too  Httle  em- 
phasized, but  it  is  fundamental  and  necessary  to  any 
real  progress  in  the  world.     "  There  is  a  higher  law 


The  Christian  Man  39 

for  life  than  self-will  and  unregulated  impulse  ;  the  real 
world  goes  deeper  than  things  of  sense ;  this  temporal 
life  is  related  to  eternity;  and  God  is  the  central 
verity  of  all." 

THE   PERFECT  EXAMPLE 

God's  Measure  of  a  Man. — What  is  the  standard  by 
which  man  is  to  compare  himself?  Great  things  are 
expected  of  a  man  but  how  is  he  to  work  them  out  ? 
These  are  fair  questions. 

Jesus  Christ  has  two  titles  in  the  New  Testament, 
"  The  Son  of  God  "  and  "  The  Son  of  Man."  If  we 
want  to  know  what  God  is  like  we  look  into  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ.  If  we  want  to  know  what  man 
ought  to  be  we  look  into  the  face  of  Jesus  Christ 
(John  14 :  5-9 ;  Matthew  5  :  48). 

Jesus  Christ  is  the  Perfect  Example. 

He  is  the  Perfect  Example  of  a  Physical  Man. — 
The  test  here  is  bodily  endurance  and  perfect  control 
over  the  body.  Look  at  Jesus  Christ  and  note  His 
physical  endurance  tests.  He  was  forty  days  without 
food  (Matthew  4:2);  this  is  not  a  weakling's  task. 
A  man  must  have  a  strong  body  to  endure  through 
such  a  starvation  period.  For  a  man  to  be  crucified 
upon  a  cross,  after  being  scourged,  was  to  undergo 
the  most  terrible  agony ;  yet  Christ  so  had  His  body 
under  control  upon  His  cross  that  He  could  speak  for- 
giveness for  His  enemies  and  commend  His  mother 
to  the  care  of  a  disciple.  "  How  can  I  start  a  re- 
ligion ?  "  said  one  great  Frenchman  to  another.     "  Go 


40         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

and  be  crucified,"  was  the  reply.  If  we  want  to  be- 
hold the  perfect  physical  man,  who  had  His  body  in 
complete  control  and  made  it  do  His  will,  we  must 
look  to  Jesus  Christ.  How  many  sins  come  to  man 
through  a  weak  physical  control ! 

He  is  the  Perfect  Example  of  an  Intellectual  Man. 
— What  man  can  compare  with  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
power  of  His  intellect?  He  stands  ready  before  all 
to  state  and  defend  His  precepts  and  principles.  He 
so  spoke  to  the  people  that  they  listened  with  grow- 
ing conviction.  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man." 
Difficult  questions  were  brought  to  Him,  questions 
which  would  make  the  wisest  judges  hesitate  in  their 
answers,  and  at  once  He  gave  His  replies  which  stand 
unimpeached  to-day  for  marvellous  wisdom  and  power. 
Living  in  an  age  long  before  modern  science  had  its 
birth,  He  handles  Nature  as  her  Master  and  makes  no 
mistake.  His  words  to-day  are  a  power  in  the  court, 
in  the  senate  and  the  marts  of  the  world,  as  well  as  in 
the  pulpit.  He  is  the  perfect  intellectual  man  for  ovS 
example. 

He  is  the  Perfect  Example  of  a  Moral  Man. — 
Many  intellectual  and  physical  giants  fail  upon  the 
moral  test ;  but  in  Christ  we  find  no  moral  flaw.  He 
is  the  standard  of  moral  perfection.  He  is  the  perfect 
moral  example  for  all  men. 

Here  is  the  foundation  for  physical  and  intellectual 
progress,  but  without  a  true  moral  foundation  they 
will  both  fail. 

No  man  ever  so  ministered  to  men  as  Jesus  Christ. 


The  Christian  Man  41 

QUESTIONS 
What  is  man  ?  What  shall  we  think  of  him  ?  What  is 
the  Christian  thought  of  man  ?  Give  the  five  points  in  the 
Christian  conception  of  man.  Man  made  in  the  image  of 
God ;  give  a  statement  of  this  case.  What  is  the  image  of 
God  ?  Did  God  make  the  good  man,  the  evil  man  ?  What 
is  the  chief  end  of  man  ?  What  threefold  obligation  rests 
upon  man  to  serve  and  glorify  God  ?  What  should  be  the 
great  concern  of  man?  What  can  be  said  of  God's  measure 
of  a  man  ?  What  can  be  said  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  perfect 
physical,  intellectual  and  moral  man  ? 


STUDY  IV 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  FELLOW  MAN 

Scripture  references  :  Luke  lo  :  sg-jy  ;  Matthew  7  .•  12 ;  $  :  tb ; 
Luke  12 :  13-1S  >  I  Corinthians  ij  ;  Matthew  7  /  J-J ,'  ^  :  42-4^)  ; 
John  21 :  21,  22. 

MAN  AND  OTHER  MEN 

The  Question  of  Relationship One  of  the  most 

important  questions  is  that  of  the  relation  which  a 
man  shall  hold  to  other  men. 

1.  It  is  fundamental  in  every  system  of  philosophy 
and  religion.  The  answers,  which  are  given,  show 
their  widespread  practical  bearing  in  the  social,  indus- 
trial and  political  spheres,  as  well  as  in  the  religious. 

2.  It  is  imperative  from  the  fact  it  demands  a  re- 
ply which  becomes  at  once  the  basis  of  action.  A 
man,  amongst  men,  is  under  the  necessity  of  deciding 
how  he  will  conduct  himself  towards  his  fellow  men. 

There  are  many  divergent  opinions,  in  regard  to  the 
relation  which  a  man  should  sustain  to  his  fellow  man, 
which  lead  to  widely  divergent  courses  of  action  and 
largely  affect  the  world  for  good  or  ill. 

Jesus  Christ  was  outspoken  on  this  matter.  His 
words  (Luke  10:  29-37;  Matthew  22:  36-40)  go  at 
once  to  the  heart  of  the  question  and  give  its  only 
possible  solution. 

THE  DIFFERENCES  BETWEEN  MEN 
The  Inequalities  in  the  Lives  of  Men  are  many 
42 


The  Christian's  Fellow  Man  43 

and  far  reaching.  They  divide  men  from  each  other 
and  tend,  if  brooded  over,  to  make  them  live  lives 
apart,  with  a  lessening  sympathy  and  a  growing  hos- 
tility. They  pertain  to  race,  education,  business  and 
society.     They  may  be  natural,  or  artificially  induced. 

The  great  inequality  to-day,  however,  upon  which 
men  place  an  acute  emphasis  is  that  of  wealth  or  the 
lack  of  it.  A  man  once  came  to  Jesus  and  said, 
*'  Master,  speak  to  my  brother,  that  he  divide  the  in- 
heritance with  me"  (Luke  12:  13);  there  is  the  same 
demand  to-day.  Men  are  not  seeking  to  share  the 
responsibility  of  a  self-denying  service  to  their  fellow- 
men,  such  as  Jesus  gave;  neither  are  they  greatly 
desirous  of  advancing  the  cause  of  righteousness  in 
the  world,  but  they  are  too  largely  looking  to  the 
betterment  of  their  material  condition.  It  is  this  state 
of  affairs  which  often  spurs  men  on  to  accumulate 
wealth  by  the  oppression  of  their  fellow  men.  Many 
men  work  and  plan  for  certain  great  results  in  financial 
matters  (as  though  these  were  the  supreme  things), 
only  to  be  disappointed  and  in  consequence  lose  their 
interest  in  life.  It  is  the  making  of  the  struggle  for 
material  betterment  the  chief  thing  in  life  which  causes 
strikes,  lockouts  and  most  of  our  modern  industrial 
troubles.  Here  we  find  also  the  cause  of  heart-burn- 
ings and  jealousies  and  deep-seated  hatreds. 

It  is  said  that  out  of  these  struggles  between  com- 
petitors, and  employer  and  employee,  there  is  coming 
a  better  understanding  between  the  contending  parties 
and  also  new  adjustments  which  will  do  away  with 


44         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

these  destructive  strifes.  This  may  all  be  true,  but  so 
long  as  men  seek  simply  and  only  for  material  better- 
ment, ignoring  the  spiritual  and  moral  in  their  lives, 
any  readjustment  of  hours  of  labour  or  scale  of  wages 
or  agreements  will  only  be  of  a  temporary  character, 
for  the  real  cause  of  the  whole  trouble  is  left  untouched. 
One  of  the  ablest  writers  upon  "  The  Social  Unrest " 
says,  "  At  the  heart  of  the  larger  labour  movement  is 
the  race  longing  for  a  society  in  which  at  least  the 
spirit  of  equahty  shall  be  realized.  Most  radical  reme- 
dies are  only  means  to  this  end.  Beyond,  and  deeper 
than  all  the  machinery  of  social  reconstruction,  is  this 
master  passion  of  democracy."  But  this  same  writer 
also,  after  a  survey  of  the  whole  question,  declares 
that  before  this  equality  can  be  realized  there  must 
come  a  character  founded  on  love. 

Cause  and  Remedy. — Selfishness  is  often  the  real 
cause  of  the  sting  of  inequality  and  of  the  keeping  of 
men  apart ;  until  this  is  eradicated  and  replaced  by  the 
master  passion  of  love — employer  for  employee  and 
employee  for  employer — no  agreements  and  no  legis- 
lation, between  the  contending  forces  will  serve  the  pur- 
pose. It  was  the  master  passion  of  a  supreme  love 
which  produced  the  first  social  equality  society  (Acts 
4 '  32-37) ;  it  was  selfishness  which  broke  it  up  (Acts 
5  :  1-13).  This  selfishness  is  also  at  the  root  of  the 
arrogance  which  causes  men  to  despise  men  of  an  in- 
ferior race,  culture  or  social  position  and  seeks  to  use 
them  for  purposes  of  gain. 

Perfect  equality  amongst  men,  however,  outside  of 


The  Christian's  Fellow  Man  45 

equality  before  the  law  and  God,  hardly  seems  a  re- 
alizable thing ;  certainly  all  men  cannot  be  of  the  same 
age  and  of  the  same  stature  at  the  same  time ;  there 
arc  gifts  of  talent ;  there  are  different  races,  but  where 
supreme  love  is  it  takes  out  the  sting  of  a  sense  of  an 
inferiority  and  the  jealousy  and  hatred  of  superior  gifts  ; 
under  its  benign  influence  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the 
talented  and  the  untalented,  work  together  as  brethren. 
The  brotherhood  of  love  is  the  only  true  brotherhood 
and  the  only  solution  of  this  vexed  question. 

THE  TRUE  RELATION  OF  MAN  TO  MAN 
Who  is  My  Neighbour  ? — The  answer  which  Jesus 
gave  to  this  question  (Luke  10 :  29),  which  a  certain 
lawyer  asked  of  Him  in  order  to  justify  himself,  shows 
the  true  relation  of  man  to  man. 

The  lawyer  doubtless  supposed  when  he  put  this 
question  to  Jesus  that  he  would  silence  Him.  The 
Jews  in  their  proud  isolation  considered  themselves  the 
chosen  people  of  God  and  despised  other  races,  even 
looking  with  a  certain  contempt  upon  their  Roman 
conquerors.  How  would  the  Jewish  Messiah,  if  not 
put  to  silence,  answer  a  question  like  this  ?  Doubtless 
the  reply  would  be  that  only  a  Jew  could  be  neighbour 
to  a  Jew.  The  race  spirit  is  a  strong  one  and  men 
born  to  a  certain  nationality  have  many  stout  binding 
ties  of  speech  and  customs,  which  are  not  easily 
broken. 

Mark,  however,  the  large  mindedness  of  Jesus.  He 
breaks  at  once  through  race  ties  and  without  so  much 


46         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

as  mentioning  the  Jew,  he  takes  the  Samaritan  as  the 
example  of  a  good  neighbour.  Now  the  Jews  and  the 
Samaritans  had  no  dealings  with  each  other,  their  ani- 
mosity was  well  known ;  at  this  distance  of  time  we 
can  hardly  realize  how  startling  a  thing  it  was  to  take 
a  Samaritan  as  an  example  of  a  good  neighbour.  But 
it  is  right  here  that  Jesus  begins  to  show  us  the  true 
relation  of  man  to  man  and  that  this  relation  is  superior 
to  race,  caste,  language,  social  distinctions,  customs 
and  organizations. 

My  neighbour,  then,  is  not  only  the  man  who  lives 
next  door,  or  is  in  the  same  business,  or  belongs  to  the 
same  church  or  labour  organization,  or  political  party, 
but  all  men  are  my  neighbours  and  I  am  to  seek  to  do 
them  good  (Luke  10 :  30-37).  This  definition  of 
neighbour  does  away  with  all  clannishness  and  exclu~ 
siveness,  and  man  comes  face  to  face  with  his  fellow 
man  as  a  man. 

How  Shall  I  Treat  My  Neighbour  ? — A  number  of 
answers  may  be  given : 

1.  Investigate  the  claims  of  my  neighbour  when  I 
see  him  in  a  sad  condition.  The  good  Samaritan  did 
this  at  considerable  personal  risk,  for  he  could  be  by 
no  means  sure  that  the  robbers  would  not  return  and 
rob  him.  Too  many  men,  when  they  see  their  neigh- 
bours in  want,  pass  by  on  the  other  side,  as  the  priest 
and  Levite  did.  Adversity  has  been  described  as  "  a 
deep  pit,  into  which  a  man  has  fallen,  which  is  sur- 
rounded by  his  near-sighted  friends." 

2.  Sympathize    and    succour    my    neighbour    in 


The  Christian's  Fellow  Man  47 

trouble  and  do  what  is  needed  to  help  him  get  upon 
his  feet. 

3.  Interest  myself  in  the  well  being  of  my  neigh- 
bour after  the  immediate  and  acute  necessity  for  aid  is 
past.  There  are  many  who  are  willing  to  aid  when  a 
pressing  call  comes,  but  who  are  unwilling  to  keep  up 
that  aid  through  the  convalescing  stage  ;  here  is  where 
the  summons  comes  to  be  not  weary  in  well  doing  to 
one's  neighbour. 

Outside  of  money  help  and  aid  in  times  of  disaster 
and  sickness  there  are  many  who  are  lonesome  for 
words  of  cheer  and  acts  of  kindness  on  the  part  of 
those  with  whom  they  daily  come  in  contact.  There 
is  a  deeper  meaning  in  the  parable  than  that  which  re- 
lates to  physical  pain.  There  is  a  suffering  of  the  soul 
and  a  mental  trouble  which  beseech  the  kindness  of 
the  Christlike  neighbourly  touch. 

4.  There  is  also  the  larger  work,  which  is  fundamen- 
tal, of  bringing  one's  fellow  man  into  the  fellowship  and 
communion  of  Jesus  Christ ;  this  is  the  greatest  benefit 
which  any  Christian  man  can  confer  upon  his  brother- 
man  (John  I  :  40-42,  45). 

CHRIST'S  LAW  OF  LOVE 
Statement  of  the  Law. — "  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbour  as  thyself"  (Matthew  22  :  39).  A  certain 
lawyer  asked  Jesus,  "  Master,  which  is  the  great  com- 
mandment of  the  law  ?  Jesus  said  unto  him,  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  mind.     This  is  the 


48         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

first  and  great  commandment.  And  the  second  is  like 
unto  it.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 
The  kingdom  of  God  will  come  when  this  command- 
ment is  fully  obeyed  by  men. 

Exposition  of  the  Law. — It  would  seem  as  if  a  law 
so  plainly  stated  would  need  no  explanation  or  expo- 
sition. But  before  men  can  rightly  love  each  other 
they  must  have  certain  principles  and  a  certain  charac- 
ter. It  is  not  desirable  that  evil  men  with  depraved 
thoughts  and  bad  lives  love  us  as  they  love  themselves  ; 
for  they  love  that  which,  if  accepted  by  men,  would 
lead  to  deep  corruption  of  character. 

Jesus  Christ  well  put  it  that  God  must  first  be 
loved,  with  all  the  heart,  soul  and  mind,  before  a  man 
is  ready  to  love  his  neighbour  as  himself.  This  loving 
of  God,  first,  implies  an  acceptance  of  the  standpoint 
of  God  in  regard  to  man  and  the  looking  upon  one's 
fellow  man  as  God  looks  upon  him.  This  standpoint 
of  God  is  best  seen  in  the  words  and  acts  of  Jesus 
Christ.  A  man  in  order,  then,  to  love  his  fellow  man 
aright  must  be  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  principles 
of  the  Master.  A  man  must  look  upon  other  men  as 
having  souls  of  eternal  value.  A  man  who  would  do 
as  Jesus  would  have  him  do  must  first  have  His  spirit 
of  self-sacrificing  love  (Matthew  23  :  8-12  ;  John  17  :  19; 
Philippians  2:  5-7;  Isaiah  S3:  3;  John  13:  12-15). 

Application  of  the  Law. — The  beauty  of  this  law 
of  love  is  that  it  may  be  universally  applied.  There 
is  no  condition  of  man  that  it  cannot  meet  and  satisfy. 
The  crying  wrongs  of  the  home,  society,  the  industrial 


The  Christian's  Fellow  Man  49 

world,  the  state,  arise  out  of  its  neglect  and  condemna- 
tion. Men  seek  to  make  good  their  claims  for  things 
which  they  think  belong  to  them,  they  fight  for  them, 
gain  them  or  lose  them,  fight  again  or  are  fought,  and 
in  consequence  race  hatred,  class  and  industrial  hatred 
embitter  the  hearts  of  men. 

This  law  applied  to  the  life  of  the  individual, 
sweetens  it  in  its  lowest  depths  and  makes  the  strongest 
kind  of  a  character.  Paul  is  an  example  of  an  able 
yet  impetuous  man,  who  let  the  gospel  of  the  love  of 
Christ  have  its  supreme  way  with  him.  We  find  in 
him  no  shrinking  from  difficulties  or  death  itself 
(2  Timothy  4 :  6-8).  In  the  midst  of  sore  trials  he 
wrote  that  remarkable  classic  (i  Corinthians  13)  upon 
love  which  has  been  the  help  and  stay  of  many  a 
burdened  soul. 

This  law  applied  in  society  is  its  only  saving  power. 
It  is  this  Christ  love  which  sends  men  into  the  slums 
of  the  cities  to  work  for  their  fellow  men.  It  is  this 
love  that  is  the  moving  power  of  the  missionary  of  the 
cross,  when  he  goes  into  the  heart  of  heathendom.  It 
is  this  love  that  has  brought  into  the  world  all  the  re- 
forms that  are  worth  having  and  caused  it  to  care  for 
its  sick  and  its  poor. 

It  is  to  be  deplored  that  in  some  quarters  we  should 
hear  voices  talking  about  the  inability  of  the  Church 
to  cope  with  the  modern  conditions  of  life  and  that 
these  voices  should  be  calling  for  new  institutions  to 
take  its  place.  So  long  as  the  Church  recognizes  its 
duty  to  preach  and  practice  the  love  of  God  to  man, 


50         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

man  to  God,  and  man  to  his  fellow  man,  no  institution 
can  take  its  place ;  for  it  has  in  this  preaching,  and 
the  application  of  it,  the  supreme  remedy  for  the  ills 
of  mankind.  Where  there  is  no  love  or  regard  of 
man  for  his  God  or  fellow  men  all  agreements  and  all 
laws  however  stoutly  made,  with  and  for  contending 
parties,  have  in  them  a  fatal  weakness. 

It  is  love  that  sent  Jesus  Christ  into  the  world 
(John  3:  16,  17)  and  it  is  its  proclamation,  and  ac- 
ceptance as  the  ruling  power  of  life,  that  has  caused 
all  the  real  advancement  in  civilization  since  His 
advent. 

QUESTIONS 
What  can  be  said  of  the  question  of  the  relationship  of 
man  to  other  men  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  inequalities  in 
the  lives  of  men  and  the  great  inequality  ?  What  is  the  cause 
and  remedy  of  the  sting  of  inequality  ?  Who  is  my  neigh- 
bour? How  shall  I  treat  my  neighbour?  What  is  Christ's 
law  of  love  ?  Give  the  statement,  exposition  and  application 
of  the  law. 


STUDY  V 

THE  CHRISTIAN  FAITH 

Scripture  refereitces  :  Hebrews  ii ;  Matthew  g  :  sg  ;  ij  :  zo  ;  Mark 
lo :  ^2  ;  II :  22  ;  Acts  2  :  j8  ;  3  :  ib  ;  10  :  43  ;  16 :  JO,  31 ;  Ro- 
mans 1 :  77  ;  S  :  I  ;  10  :  17  ;   Galatians  2  :  20. 

FAITH  AND  PRACTICE 

Belief  Controls  Action. — "  As  the  man  is,  so  is  his 
strength  "  (Judges  8  :  21),  "  For  as  he  thinketh  in  his 
heart  so  is  he"  (Proverbs  23:  7).  "According  to 
your  faith  be  it  unto  you "  (Matthew  9 :  28,  29). 
"  Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence ;  for  out  of  it  are 
the  issues  of  life"  (Proverbs  4:  23). 

The  Scriptures  place  stress  upon  the  fact  that  a 
man's  actions  are  largely  dependent  upon  what  he 
believes  or  disbelieves  rather  than  upon  his  environ- 
ment (Proverbs  4:  23;  Romans  10:  10;  Acts  8:  21  ; 
Matthew  9:  4;  12:  34;  15:  11,  18-20;  23:  25). 
There  is  the  will  to  believe  and  there  is  the  will  not  to 
believe  (Matthew  15:  28;  16:  24;  Luke  9:  23;  John 
5  :  40).  Man  grows  from  the  inside  out.  What  he 
believes  in  his  heart  will  sooner  or  later  manifest  itself 
in  his  acts.  If  a  man  thinks  evil  in  his  heart  and 
cherishes  that  evil,  while  outwardly  his  life  is  moral 
and  upright,  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when  the 
inner  badness  will  break  through  the  thin  crust  of 
outer  goodness.     The  real  battle  of  life  is  in  a  man's 

51 


52         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

soul  and  if  a  man  sets  himself  to  win  this  battle  he 
need  have  no  fear  of  outward  evil  circumstances ;  he 
will  have  to  set  no  guard  upon  his  words  or  acts  for 
he  will  speak  and  act  from  a  pure  and  upright  heart. 
It  is  not  what  he  disbelieves,  but  what  he  believes,  his 
conviction  of  truth,  that  makes  him  strong. 

Hence  the  necessity  for  the  vigorous  and  living 
faith  which  Christ  urged  upon  His  followers  (Mark  1 1 : 
22-24;  Matthew  17:  19,  20;  Luke  8:  24,  25),  a  faith 
that  could  not  be  daunted  by  mountains  of  difficulty 
or  great  storms  of  afflictions. 

Jesus  came  into  the  world  with  a  positive  pro- 
gram. He  had  a  constructive  gospel  to  preach  to 
men.  His  disciples  after  His  death  followed  in  the 
footsteps  of  their  Master  and  carried  out  His  com- 
mands. The  result  was  that  faith  was  translated  into 
action ;  the  old  world  was  changed  and  myriads  of 
men  gave  in  their  allegiance  to  the  Christ.  The  posi- 
tive setting  forth  of  the  Christian  faith  always  brings 
definite  results. 

BASIS  OF  CHRISTIAN  FAITH 
The  Christian  Faith  is  Founded  Upon  the  Fact 
and  Experience  of  Jesus  Christ — Without  Him  there 
would  have  been  no  such  faith. 

I.  The  fact  of  Christ.  This  faith  bases  itself  pri- 
marily not  upon  reason  or  feeling,  but  upon  Jesus 
Christ,  a  historical  person,  and  what  He  said  and  did 
while  upon  this  earth  in  bodily  form.  The  early  dis- 
ciples and  preachers  declared  themselves  to  be  wit- 


The  Christian  Faith  53 

nesses.  They  were  sent  forth  as  witnesses  (Matthew 
28:18-20;  John  15:  27;  Acts  1:8;  2:32).  The 
speeches  of  Peter  (Acts  2  :  14-40 ;  3  :  12-26 ;  4:8-12), 
Stephen  (Acts  7:  1-56)  and  of  Paul  (Acts  13:  16-41  ; 
22:  1-21)  are  recitals,  of  certain  well  attested  occur- 
rences, which  have  for  their  chief  point  the  setting 
forth  of  the  fact  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  as 
the  Saviour  of  men  and  hope  of  the  world  (Acts  2 : 

38,  39)- 

2.  The  experience  of  Christ.  By  this  is  meant  the 
experience  which  men  have  who  receive  Christ  as 
their  Saviour  and  Lord.  There  is  a  historical  Christ ; 
and  there  is  a  spiritual  Christ  who  enters  into  a  com- 
munion of  happiness  and  joy,  with  believers  in  Him. 
Jesus  Christ,  when  on  earth  in  bodily  form,  promised 
the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  who  should  glorify 
Him  (John  16:  13,  14);  He  also  declared  to  His  dis- 
ciples, "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end 
of  the  world  "  (Matthew  28  :  20).  Wherever  this  gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ  is  preached  and  men  under  its 
power  truly  repent  of  their  sins  and  accept  Him  as 
their  Saviour,  as  in  the  past  so  now,  men  may  enter 
into  personal  relations  with  their  risen  and  glorified 
Lord  (Acts  2:40-42;  John  7  :  17;  Acts  8:5-7; 
Romans  8:  i-io;  Colossians  i  :  27 ;  Acts  26:  15-19). 

Essential  Elements. — In  the  Christian  faith  there 
are  six  component  elements. 

I.  Belief  in  God  as  The  Spirit,  "  infinite,  eternal, 
and  unchangeable  in  His  being,  wisdom  and  power, 
hoUness,  justice,  goodness  and  truth"  (John  4:  24; 


54         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

Exodus  20  :  2-7  ;   Deuteronomy  6:4;   Isaiah  44  :  6 ; 
John  17:3;  I  Corinthians  8  :  4,  6 ;  Psalm  19;  104  :  24), 

2.  Behef  in  man,  as  a  child  of  God,  whose  spirit  is 
destined  to  live  forever  (Genesis  2:7;  2  Corinthians 
5:1;  Ecclesiastes  12:7;  Matthew  6 :  25  ;  5  :  29,  30). 

3.  Behef  in  sin  which  taints  and  corrupts  the  heart 
of  man,  making  it  finally,  if  unchecked,  the  dwelling 
place  of  all  evil.  The  effects  of  sin  are  everywhere 
plainly  manifest.  Men  not  only  sin  through  igno- 
rance and  carelessly  but  willfully.  The  worst  sins  are 
those  which  are  of  the  spirit,  anger,  pride,  malice  and 
envy  (Isaiah  53:6;  64:6;  Romans  3:23;  i  John 
1:8;  Romans  i  :  18-3  :  23  ;  8 :  7). 

4.  Belief  in  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Saviour  of  men,  who  can  cleanse  the  heart  of  man  and 
save  him  from  his  sins.  Jesus  Christ  came  not  only 
to  reveal  God,  the  Father,  to  man  but  also  to  purge 
his  heart  from  evil.  "  He  is  the  propitiation  for  our 
sins"  (i  John  2:  i,  2;  Romans  8:  34;  Hebrews  7: 
24,  25  ;  Matthew  20  :  28 ;  Romans  3  :  24,  25 ;  5:8; 
8:3;  Galatians  3:13;  2  Corinthians  5  :  21 ;  i  Corin- 
thians I  :  30 ;  Matthew  9 :  2-6). 

5.  Belief  in  the  sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  (i  Corinthians  6:  ii;  Ephesians  3:  16;  Gala- 
tians 5  :  22)  who  "  testifies  of  Christ,  as  the  Saviour  of 
sinners,  unites  us  to  Him  by  faith,  and  makes  us  par- 
takers of  all  His  benefits."  Jesus  said,  "  When  the 
Comforter  is  come,  whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from 
the  Father,  even  the  Spirit  of  truth,  which  proceedeth 
from  the  Father,  He  shall  testify  of  Me  "  (John  15  :  26). 


The  Christian  Faith  5J 

"  The  Spirit  of  truth  .  .  .  will  guide  you  into  all 
truth.  .  .  .  He  shall  glorify  Me :  for  He  shall  re- 
ceive of  Mine  and  shall  show  it  unto  you "  (John 
16:  13,  14;  14:  26;  I  Corinthians  12:  3;  Titus  3: 
5,  6;  Matthew  28  :  19  ;  John  3  :  5,6). 

6.  Belief  in  the  resurrection  and  the  hfe  to  come, 
the  issues  of  which  are  declared  to  be  eternal.  "  The 
hour  is  coming  in  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
hear  His  voice,  and  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have 
done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that 
have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation" 
(John  5  :  28,  29 ;  Matthew  25  :  31-46 ;  25  :  i-i  3).  The 
great  rainbow  of  promise  that  spans  the  future,  for 
those  who  trust  in  Christ,  is  in  the  fact  that  He  said, 
"  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life :  he  that  believeth 
in  Me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live.  And 
whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  Me  shall  never  die  " 
(John  1 1  :  25,  26  ;  i  Thessalonians  5  :  23  ;  John  6  :  47  ; 
14:  2,  19).  The  resurrection  body  "  will  be  spiritual, 
immortal,  incorruptible,  and  like  unto  the  glorious 
body  of  Jesus  Christ"  (Phihppians  3:  20,  21 ;  i  Corin- 
thians 15:  20-23,  35-57)- 

Definiteness. — There  is  a  marvellous  directness  and 
definiteness  in  the  statements  of  the  New  Testament 
writers,  in  proclaiming  the  Christian  faith,  because 
they  believe  that  they  are  dealing  with  the  tremen- 
dous facts  of  life  and  destiny.  God  has  manifested 
Himself  and  spoken  in  Jesus  Christ  as  He  has  never 
manifested  Himself  before.  "  God  who  at  sundry  times 
and  in  divers  manners  spake  in  time  past  unto  the 


56         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

fathers  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days  spoken 
unto  us  by  His  Son,  whom  He  hath  appointed  heir 
of  all  things"  (Hebrews  i  :  i,  2).  The  eternal  things 
of  God,  kept  secret  from  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
are  now  made  known  to  man ;  why  should  he  not,  in 
spite  of  any  punishment  or  threatened  ignominious 
death,  proclaim  these  truths  definitely  and  plainly  to 
his  fellow  man  (Acts  4 :  1 3-20)  ? 

The  keynote  of  all  of  Paul's  work  is  sounded  in  a 
very  definite  and  direct  way  in  his  first  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians  (2  :  2,  5)  where  he  says,  "  For  I  determined 
not  to  know  anything  among  you,  save  Jesus  Christ 
and  Him  crucified.  .  .  .  That  your  faith  should 
not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men  but  in  the  power 
of  God."  Paul  consistently  maintains  throughout  his 
Epistles  that  the  sole  basis  of  salvation  is  the  grace  of 
God  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  appropriated  by  faith 
on  the  part  of  man. 

TESTS  OF  CHRISTIAN  FAITH 
Effects  Upon  Men  and  Institutions. — Jesus  Christ 
was  ever  urging  His  disciples  to  test  His  words  and 
principles.  He  declared  the  difference  between  true 
and  false  prophets  could  be  known  by  their  fruits. 
He  said,  "  Do  men  gather  grapes  of  thorns  or  figs  of 
thistles  ?  Even  so  every  good  tree  bringeth  forth  good 
fruit;  but  a  corrupt  tree  bringeth  forth  evil  fruit  .  .  . 
wherefore  by  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them  "  (Matthew 
7:15-20).  When  Thomas  expressed  doubt  of  His 
resurrection,  Christ  gave  him  ample  opportunity  to 


The  Christian  Faith  57 

test  its  reality  (John  20 :  24-29).  Christ's  challenge 
to  the  world  is,  "  Try  Me  !  "  "  Come  and  see  what  I 
can  do ! " 

What  kind  of  men  has  the  Christian  faith  made? 
What  kind  of  communities  has  it  produced  ?  Two 
pertinent  questions  are  asked  in  a  recent  book  of  ser- 
mons, What  would  be  the  effect  upon  this  world  if 
everybody  was  a  consistent  Christian  ?  What  would 
be  the  effect  upon  this  world  if  everybody  was  a 
consistent  infidel  ?  "  The  argument  is  a  crushing  one, 
for  of  a  truth  Christianity  can  stand  such  a  test  with 
a  glory  that  would  astonish  even  the  most  ardent 
enthusiasts.  And  it  is  the  one  test,  let  it  be  admitted 
with  sorrow,  that  a  reviling  world  is  not  willing  to 
have  it  judged  by." 

A  Saving  Faith  which  meets  men  at  their  extremity 
of  need  and  gives  them  a  new  heart.  It  is  not  only  a 
faith  that  did  save  men  when  Christ  walked  the  earth 
and  healed  the  sick,  giving  sight  to  the  blind  and 
raising  the  dead,  but  it  is  a  faith  which  saves  men 
now.  Christ  is  still  performing  His  miracle  of  cleans- 
ing the  hearts  of  men  of  evil.  He  is  saying,  "  Come 
unto  Me,"  and  men  are  coming  as  of  old.  The  ques- 
tion whether  He  can  save  now  is  being  put  to  the 
test  every  day  and  every  day  it  is  being  answered  in 
the  regeneration  of  men.  Wherever  this  gospel  is 
preached  amongst  the  wealthy  and  learned  or  the 
poor  and  ignorant,  it  shows  its  splendid  fruitage  as  it 
did  of  old. 


58         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

USES  OF  CHRISTIAN  FAITH 

To  Make  Plain  the  Great  Cause  of  All  as  Father. — 
We  live  in  an  immense  universe,  in  the  midst  of  giant 
forces  of  which,  after  science  has  made  its  most  search- 
ing investigation  and  said  its  last  word,  we  know  com- 
paratively little  and  that  little  imperfectly.  No  set  of 
men  is  more  ready  to  admit  this  state  of  aftairs  than 
that  which  has  made  the  closest  scrutiny  of  the  phe- 
nomena of  nature.  There  is  a  host  of  questions  to 
which  the  most  painstaking  investigation  on  the  part 
of  the  philosophers  can  afford  us  no  answer. 

Without  this  Christian  faith  which  tells  us  of  a  reve- 
lation from  God  and  His  plan  and  purpose  for  man  we 
should  be  helpless,  ever  seeking  for  light  in  this  uni- 
verse which  we  could  not  find.  Then  again  we  might 
beheve  in  a  first  great  cause  of  all  things,  but  without 
a  revelation  we  could  not  know  God  as  the  Creator  of 
all  things  and  as  our  Father  who  cares  supremely  for 
us — made  known  in  the  manifestation  of  Jesus  Christ. 

By  faith  in  Christ  we  are  brought  into  communion 
with  God  the  Father. 

To  Show  the  Importance  and  Value  of  Human 
Life. — How  could  man  know  that  he  was  more  than 
an  atom  in  a  whirlpool  of  atoms,  his  life  of  sense  but 
a  transitory  thing,  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  Scriptures 
which  seek  to  impress  upon  him  the  value  of  his  life 
in  the  sight  of  God  (John  3  :  16,  17  ;  Matthew  16:  26)? 
Without  the  pale  of  the  Christian  faith  men  hold  Hfe 
but  cheaply,  they  squander  it  and  waste  it  in  sin  ;  they 
too  often  say,  "  Let  us  eat,  drink  and  be  merry  for  to- 


The  Christian  Faith  59 

morrow  we  die " — forever  passing  out  of  existence. 
The  Christian  faith  holds  human  hfe  as  a  very  precious 
thing,  something  to  be  cherished  with  infinite  and 
loving  care,  for  the  spirit  in  man  is  to  live  forever. 
Here  is  a  new  significance  given  to  life  which,  when 
the  individual  accepts  it,  gives  him  new  and  great 
ideals,  which  lift  him  to  a  higher  level  of  liv- 
ing. 

By  faith  in  Christ  we  are  brought  into  proper  fel- 
lowship with  our  fellow  men,  and  their  lives  are  made 
precious  in  our  sight. 

To  Show  the  Way  to  Happiness  and  Joy  Through 
Jesus  Christ. — If  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another 
which  man  is  seeking  it  is  happiness,  but  it  is  the  kind 
of  happiness  which  frequently  destroys  the  body  and 
soul — still  he  seeks  it.  Many  men  seek  happiness 
through  relaxation  of  their  moral  nature. 

Christ  came  preaching  the  happiness  of  a  conqueror, 
the  victor  who  sings  the  song  of  rejoicing  over  some 
victory  won ;  He  set  forth  a  joy  which  celebrated  a 
conquest  over  evil  desires  and  made  a  man  noble  and 
pure  in  his  thoughts  and  aspirations.  Jesus  did  His 
work  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  (Hebrews 
12:  2).  The  Christian  faith  was  never  intended  to 
make  a  man  gloomy  or  downcast,  but  to  put  joy  in  his 
heart  and  a  song  upon  his  lips.  No  one  has  more 
right  to  a  cheerful  countenance  than  the  sincere  Chris- 
tian, for  he  can  be  sure  that  he  knows  the  way  of 
happiness  here  and  nothing  can  come  to  him  hereafter 
save  peace  and  glory  in  the  redeemed  life. 


6o         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

QUESTIONS 
How  does  belief  control  action?  What  is  the  basis  of 
Christian  faith?  Give  the  six  component  elements  of  the 
Christian  faith.  What  can  be  said  of  the  definiteness  of  the 
Christian  faith  ?  Give  some  of  the  tests  of  Christian  faith. 
Give  three  uses  of  Christian  faith. 


STUDY  VI 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  BOOK 

Scripture  references  :  2  Timothy  j  :  i6,  17 ;  2  Peter  i :  20,  21 ; 
John  5 .-  J9 /  Romans  ij  :  4;  2  Samuel  2j  :  2  ;  Luke  i  :  70 ; 
24  :  32,  4.^  ;  John  2  :  22  ;  to  :  3S  /  19  •'  j6  ;  Acts  i :  16  ;  Romans 
1:1,2;  I  Corinthians  /j  .•  j,  4  ;  James  2  :  8. 

WHAT  IS  THE  BIBLE? 

What  is  the  Bible  ?  How  shall  we  regard  it  ? 
Where  shall  we  place  it  ?  These  and  many  questions 
Hke  them  at  once  come  to  the  front  when  we  begin  to 
discuss  the  Bible  as  a  book.  It  is  only  possible  in 
this  brief  study,  of  a  great  subject,  to  indicate  the  line 
of  some  of  the  answers. 

It  is  not  Like  Other  Books. — Although  its  last 
paragraph  was  written  and  the  canon  completed  many 
hundreds  of  years  ago,  it  is  still  one  of  the  freshest 
and  newest  of  books  and  its  moral  precepts  and 
admonitions  are  far  in  advance  of  the  world's  practice. 
It  has  an  adaptability  to  all  sorts  and  conditions  of 
men  and  a  flexibility  in  meeting  the  most  radical 
changes  of  thought,  which  is  possessed  by  no  other 
volume.  It  has  been  attacked  and  denounced  and 
seemingly  demolished  only  in  the  end  to  lead  its 
critics  captive  and  to  come  forth  from  the  fray 
stronger  than  ever. 

61 


62         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

It  is  a  God-filled  and  God-inspired  book.  It  is  the 
most  lasting  in  its  popularity  of  all  books. 

It  is  Like  Other  Books  in  that  it  is  cast  in  the 
mold  of  the  literature  of  a  certain  people.  We  find 
here  all  the  forms  of  literature,  history,  philosophy, 
poetry,  letters,  etc.  There  is  much  plausibility  in  the 
plea  for  the  study  of  the  Bible  as  literature  for  it  is  the 
best  of  its  kind. 

It  Leads  the  World's  Thought  of  Righteousness 
and  Purity  of  Life. — The  Ten  Commandments  (Exo- 
dus 20:  1-17),  The  Beatitudes  (Matthew  5:  1-12) 
and  The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  (Matthew  5 :  1-7 :  29) 
set  forth  the  highest  ethical  standards  known  to  man. 

It  is  the  Record  of  a  Revelation  from  God. 

The  theme  is, "  the  entrance  of  God  into  the  spiritual 
life  of  man."  This  makes  it  superior  to  all  other 
books  and  invests  it  with  a  unique  character  which 
commands  our  most  earnest  attention.  God,  who  is 
speaking  to  men  through  this  book,  says,  "  Thou 
shalt  have  no  other  gods  before  Me."  God  is  not 
only  the  God  of  the  Israelites  but  of  all  nations  and 
peoples. 

The  great  men,  whose  life  stories  are  given  in  the 
Bible,  were  God  called  to,  and  God  guided  in,  their 
work  of  uplifting  the  world.  We  have  only  to  look 
at  the  record  to  see  how  the  initiative  is  declared  to 
have  been  taken  by  God.  Here  is  the  roll  call, 
Abraham  (Genesis  12:  1-3),  Moses  (Exodus  3:  14), 
Joshua  (i  :  1-6),  Samuel  (i  Samuel  3  :  4-21),  David 
(i  Samuel  16:  3,  11-13),  Isaiah  (i  :  i),  Ezekiel  (i  :  i), 


The  Christian's  Book  63 

Jeremiah  (1:2)  and  all  the  prophets,  John  the  Baptist 
(Luke  I  :  13-17;  Matthew  3:  1-12),  Peter,  John  and 
Paul  (Acts  I  :  8  ;  2  :  1-4 ;   1 3  :  1 ,  2). 

The  Old  Testament  shows  the  looking  forward  to 
the  Christ  and  the  New  Testament  records  His  com- 
ing as  the  Spiritual  Light  of  the  world.  No  other 
book  or  set  of  books  announce  •'  the  entrance  of  God 
to  the  spiritual  Ufe  of  man "  through  Jesus  Christ 
(John  1 :  1-18),  who  came  speaking  of  the  new  spiritual 
birth  of  man  (John  3:  1-21). 

The  only  key  to  the  understanding  of  the  Bible  is 
this  plan  of  God  to  enter  into  the  spiritual  life  of  man. 
We  may  easily  look  in  the  Bible  for  what  is  not  there 
and  read  into  its  pages  what  is  in  our  own  thoughts  or 
read  out  of  them  that  which  we  do  not  wish  to  see, 
but  back  of  all  we  must  acknowledge  this  pecuHar 
purpose  of  God. 

Back  also  of  all  theories  of  revelation  and  inspira- 
tion— and  giving  rise  to  them — stands  the  great 
thought  of  God  for  the  spiritual  redemption  of  men. 
For  this  end  He  enters  into  covenant  with  the 
Israelites,  He  sends  them  prophets  and  teachers,  and 
at  last  He  sends  His  Son.  Continually  God  is  calling 
to  men,  "  Be  ye  holy  for  I  am  holy." 

STRUCTURE 

In  any  book,  after  the  consideration  of  the  theme, 

we  look  for  the  form  and  the  plan.     In  order  to  study 

a  book  to  the  best  advantage,  the  different  parts  and 

their  relation  to  each  other  and  to  the  whole  must  be 


64         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

made  plain.  The  Bible  readily  lends  itself  to  an  in- 
vestigation of  its  structure. 

The  Bible  is  One  Book  with  one  thought  running 
through  it,  God's  purpose  to  redeem  man,  and  may- 
be so  read  and  studied. 

The  Bible  is  Composed  of  Many  Books  written  by 
different  authors  in  different  languages,  at  different 
times.  Some  of  the  books  were  circulated  separately 
before  they  were  gathered  either  into  the  canon  of  the 
Old  or  New  Testaments.  The  gathering  together  of 
the  books  and  the  placing  them  in  the  order  that  we 
have  them  now  was  a  slow  process,  but  all  in  the 
order  and  interest  of  a  progressive  revelation  of  God 
and  because  of  a  common  sympathetic  subject. 

The  books  take  different  forms  and  have  different 
classifications,  such  as  books  of  the  law,  wisdom,  his- 
tory, poetry,  etc.  In  studying  any  book  it  is  neces- 
sary to  attend  to  its  classification ;  there  has  been 
much  misunderstanding  of  the  Bible  books  because  of 
the  interpretation  of  a  book  of  poetry  as  history  or 
the  holding  the  free  style  of  a  letter  to  the  hard  and 
fast  standards  of  a  carefully  worded  court  document. 
The  standpoint  of  the  author  of  a  book,  and  some 
consideration  for  the  age  in  which  he  lives,  must 
always  be  taken  into  consideration ;  in  this  way  a 
book,  which  may  seem  to  us  now  to  be  behind  the 
age  in  its  thought,  will  be  seen  to  be  far  ahead  of  the 
age  in  which  the  author  lived  and  making  and  marking 
an  important  epoch  in  a  progressive  revelation. 

Each  Bible  book  has  a  well  considered  plan,  a  spe- 


The  Christian's  Book  65 

cial  aim,  a  historical  setting  and  a  practical  value.  For 
instance,  in  Genesis  we  have  a  book  of  beginnings  ;  a 
broad  explanation  of  the  origin  of  the  world,  man,  sin, 
salvation  ;  and  the  revelation  of  God  as  Creator,  Pre- 
server, Lawgiver,  Judge  and  Merciful  Father,  After 
the  introduction  the  book,  if  we  look  into  the  book  it- 
self, is  divided  into  ten  parts  with  the  recurring  formula, 
"  These  are  the  generations  of."  This  book  cannot 
be  overestimated  from  a  religious  standpoint.  The 
fact  of  a  Creator  is  the  fundamental  teaching  of  its  cos- 
mogony. God,  one  God,  is  here  clearly  distinguished 
from  a  host  of  heathen  gods.  He  is  over  and  above 
matter,  everything  in  the  universe  is  subject  to  Him. 
Again  in  this  book  we  have  the  early  history  of  the 
human  race  shown  in  large  outline  and  also  the  story 
of  the  fathers  of  the  Jewish  race  from  the  calling  of 
Abraham  to  the  death  of  Jacob.  Behind  any  theory 
of  the  construction  of  Genesis  the  great  representa- 
tive truths  stand  firm.  Every  Bible  book  can  be  con- 
sidered and  its  plan  and  purpose  shown  in  this  way. 
Even  a  small  book  Hke  Ruth,  which  seems  to  be  only 
a  little  pleasant  story,  has  an  important  part  to  per- 
form. Without  it  the  times  of  the  judges  would  pre- 
sent only  a  very  somber  picture,  but  with  it  we  can  see 
that  in  those  dark  and  troublous  times  there  were  no- 
ble, God  fearing  men  like  Boaz  and  true  women  like 
Ruth.  We  could  not  spare  a  single  book  of  the  New 
Testament^  for  with  one  lacking  something  would  be 
wanting  in  the  picture  of  early  Christianity. 
The    Bible    is    Composed    of   Groups  of  Books 


66         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

Which  Relate  to  Special  Eras. — They  show  God  re- 
vealing Himself  and  also  dealing  with  the  chosen  na- 
tion, under  different  forms  of  administration ;  they  in- 
dicate the  steps  leading  up  to  Christ  and  His  appear- 
ance on  the  earth. 

First  Era,  the  Time  of  Beginnings  (Genesis  i-ii: 
32).  This  extends  from  the  creation  of  the  world  to 
the  call  of  Abraham.  We  have  here  set  forth  the  con- 
nection of  the  world  with  God,  the  beginning  of  life 
and  beginning  of  sin,  which  rendered  salvation  neces- 
sary. 

Second  Era,  the  Theocracy.  The  record  is  found 
in  the  books  of  Genesis,  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers, 
Deuteronomy,  Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth  and  i  Samuel. 
This  period  is  known  as  the  Theocracy  because  it 
marks  the  direct  rule  of  God  over  His  people.  It 
lasted  from  the  covenant  of  God  with  Abraham  to  the 
anointing  of  Saul  as  king.  We  here  see  the  begin- 
ning of  the  chosen  family,  and  nation,  what  laws  and 
precepts  were  given  it  and  what  fortunes  befell  it.  This 
training  time  shows  God's  high  standards  in  the  laws 
and  precept  given  this  Israelitish  people. 

Third  Era,  the  Monarchy.  The  record  is  found  in 
the  books  of  I  and  2  Samuel,  i  and  2  Kings,  i  and  2 
Chronicles,  Psalms,  Jonah,  Amos,  Hosea,  Micah,  Joel, 
Isaiah,  Nahum,  Zephaniah,  Habakkuk  and  Jeremiah. 
We  have  here  the  story  of  the  rise,  glory,  division  and 
fall  of  the  Jewish  monarchy.  The  people  desired  a 
king  and  the  king  sought  to  rule  by  his  own  will 
rather  than  the  will  of  God.     We  note  God's  desire  to 


The  Christian's  Book  67 

make  this  nation  a  "  Holy  Nation  "  and  its  sin  and  fail- 
ure. The  function  of  the  prophets  was  to  declare  the 
sin  of  the  nation,  to  set  the  right  way  before  it  and 
seek  to  lead  it  back  to  God,  but  the  nation  would  not 
heed  the  voices  of  the  prophets,  hence  the  fall  of  the 
monarchy.  The  coming  of  the  perfect  king  and  king- 
dom under  the  Messiah  is  prophesied.  The  work  and 
place  of  Christ  is  foretold  by  the  prophets. 

Fourth  Era,  the  Captivity.  The  record  is  found  in 
the  books  of  2  Chronicles,  Jeremiah,  Daniel,  Ezekiel 
and  Obadiah.  The  people  rejecting  God  are  taken 
into  captivity.  In  this  captivity  the  people  turn  to 
God  in  their  affliction,  their  worship  is  purified  and 
the  hope  of  the  coming  of  the  Messiah  grows  very 
strong. 

Fifth  Era,  the  Restoration.  The  record  is  found  in 
the  books  of  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  Haggai,  Zechariah  and 
Malachi.  The  people  purified  by  their  captivity  and 
uplifted  by  their  hope  of  the  coming  Christ  are  re- 
stored to  their  own  land. 

Sixth  Era,  the  Christian.  The  record  is  found  in 
the  books  of  the  New  Testament.  The  Christian  era 
is  ushered  in  by  the  coming  of  Christ  and  the  fulfill- 
ment of  God's  promises.  The  mission  of  the  Jewish 
nation  finds  its  fruition  in  Christ  and  the  coming  of  the 
Saviour  of  all  mankind. 

It  will  be  seen  from  this  very  brief  summary  of  the 
eras  how  God  gradually  revealed  Himself  and  His  plan 
for  the  spiritual  enlightenment  of  all  men.  The  neces- 
sity also  of  studying  each  book,  not  only  in  its  own 


68         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

plan  but  in  its  group  place,  in  order  to  find  its  mean- 
ing, cannot  be  too  earnestly  commended. 

CREDIBILITY 

It  is  natural  that  a  book  demanding  our  belief  in 
such  great  things  should  be  asked  for  its  credentials 
and  that  these  credentials  should  be  subjected  to  the 
most  searching  investigation.  The  Bible  has  nothing 
to  fear,  however,  from  the  keenest  scrutiny  of  any 
scholar  who  has  only  the  desire  to  get  at  the  truth. 
The  trouble  begins  when  a  critic,  who  is  hostile  to  its 
spiritual  truth  or  who  has  a  theory  to  maintain,  takes 
a  part  in  the  investigation ;  even  then  the  truth  is  sure, 
in  time,  to  assert  its  rightful  claim  (Acts  5  :  39).  The 
fact  of  different  interpretations  of  the  same  set  of  facts 
in  different  times,  but  leading  to  the  same  practical  re- 
sults, must  also  be  taken  into  consideration.  All  men 
do  not  receive  the  same  truth  in  the  same  way  while 
they  may  be  one  at  heart  in  the  fundamentals  (i  Corin- 
thians 12  :  4- 1 4). 

The  Bible  welcomes  any  and  all  searching  of  its 
claims ;  it  stands  out  in  the  open ;  it  has  won  its  way 
amongst  mankind  not  by  the  might  of  those  who  ad- 
vocate its  claims,  but  by  the  power  of  the  truth  within 
its  pages. 

Some  of  the  arguments  for  the  credibility  of  the 
Bible  are  here  given. 

The  Argument  from  History. — Back  of  all  questions 
of  authorship,  date  and  composition  of  the  books  of 
the  Bible,  is  the  one  great  question,  Are  the  records 


The  Christian's  Book  69 

true  to  the  facts  ?  Is  tlie  Bible,  in  plain  words,  true 
history  ? 

The  writers  of  the  New  Testament  use  the  historical 
argument.  They  speak  of  the  things  most  surely  be- 
lieved amongst  us  and  of  the  testimony  of  eye- 
witnesses (Luke  I  :  1-4;  John  19:  35;  21  :  24,  25). 
The  disciples  were  not  to  go  forth  preaching  a  subtle 
philosophy,  but  were  to  be  witnesses  of  certain  facts 
and  were  to  testify  of  the  things  which  they  had  seen 
and  heard  (Acts  i  :  8).  Peter's  speech  upon  the  day 
of  Pentecost  is  a  recital  of  facts.  Paul's  argument  for 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  based  upon  the  testimony 
of  eye-witnesses  (i  Corinthians  15  :  1-20).  If  God  has 
manifested  Himself  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  we 
need  to  know  it  through  the  best  of  testimony  in  re- 
gard to  the  fact.  The  record  of  the  New  Testament 
is  made  to  this  end. 

The  writers  of  the  Old  Testament  profess  to  give  us 
statements  of  facts  in  regard  to  God's  dealings  with 
the  Israelitish  people.  The  critical  dealing  with  each 
of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament  is  all  to  the  intent 
whether  it  fairly  represents  a  historical  situation.  The 
older  scriptural  narratives  show  of  the  doings  of  other 
nations  than  the  Israelites,  they  describe  situations  in 
times  long  past,  where  owing  to  broken  and  imperfect 
records,  it  has  been  difficult  to  get  at  the  exact  facts. 
Unfortunately  in  some  quarters  the  tendency  has  been 
to  cast  doubt  upon  the  Old  Testament  writings  where 
the  statements  were  not  corroborated  by  a  research  in 
the  archives,  often  very  imperfect,  of  other  nations. 


yo         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

But  happily  this  state  of  affairs  is  being  changed  and 
confidence  in  the  historicity  of  the  Old  Testament 
records  is  being  greatly  strengthened  by  the  investi- 
gations of  the  archaeologists  in  the  ruins  of  the 
great  empires  of  Egypt,  Assyria  and  Babylonia  with 
which  Israel  came  so  closely  in  contact.  Until  re- 
cently the  Old  Testament  stood  alone  in  its  assertion 
of  a  comparatively  high  civilization  antedating  Moses 
and  Abraham,  but  now  we  know  from  excavations 
made  in  Nippur  and  other  buried  cities  that  the  con- 
tention of  the  Bible  is  true  to  the  letter.  The  situation 
in  Egypt  and  Palestine  about  the  time  of  the  Exodus 
is  made  plain  by  the  Tel-el-Amarna  tablets.  The 
history  of  first  and  second  Kings  is  not  only  corrobo- 
rated but  amplified  by  the  monuments.  Much  yet 
remains  to  be  done  along  this  line,  some  views  may 
have  to  be  changed,  but  the  period  of  destruction  has 
passed  and  that  of  construction  has  begun. 

The  Argument  from  Prophecy. — The  Old  Testa- 
ment prophets  were  not  only  the  preachers  of  right- 
eousness for  their  own  times  and  their  own  nation,  but 
they  had  a  mission  to  other  nations  and  times  as  well. 
Their  ruling  idea  was  the  establishment  of  God's  king- 
dom upon  earth.  They  taught  the  unity,  spirituality, 
holiness,  justice  and  goodness  of  God.  They  made 
predictions  in  regard  to  Egypt,  Babylon,  Assyria, 
Syria,  Moab,  and  their  cities,  when  they  were  at  the 
height  of  their  power  ;  these  predictions  were  remark- 
ably fulfilled.  They  foretold  the  captivity  and  resto- 
ration of  Israel.     Their  great  subject  was  the  expecta- 


The  Christian's  Book  71 

tion  of  the  Messiah  and  the  Messianic  Kingdom. 
The  prophecies  in  regard  to  the  Christ  became  more 
and  more  expHcit  as  the  time  drew  near;  they  de- 
clared His  mission,  His  prophetic  power,  His  kingly- 
office,  His  priestly  activity,  the  circumstances  of  His 
coming  through  a  man,  a  nation,  and  in  a  definite 
place. 

The  Arguments  from  Vitality,  Adaptability  and 
Growth. 

1.  Vitality.  The  religions  of  Babylon,  Egypt, 
Greece  and  Rome  died  with  the  nations  which  gave 
birth  to  them.  The  religion  of  the  Bible,  shows  its 
divine  author  in  its  vitality  and  power  to  outlast  the 
religions  with  which  it  has  come  in  contact.  Empires, 
systems  of  thought,  mighty  kings,  great  men  rise  and 
have  their  day  and  pass  away,  but  this  book  lives  on. 
Here  is  a  vitality  which  persists  in  spite  of  any  and  all 
adverse  circumstances  and  influences. 

2.  Adaptability.  The  Bible  is  at  home  with  all 
races  in  all  climes.  It  adapts  itself  to  all  conditions 
of  life,  the  most  humble  and  the  most  exalted.  The 
Asiatic,  the  African,  the  European,  the  American 
accept  it  as  their  book.  It  finds  men,  as  men,  in  the 
deepest  needs  of  their  nature  and  shows  them  the  all 
loving  Saviour. 

3.  Growth.  The  multiplying  power  of  the  book 
is  shown  by  its  translations  into  hundreds  of  languages 
and  dialects.  It  makes  its  own  way  into  the  remotest 
quarters  of  the  globe  and  is  found  wielding  its  power 
in  the  hut  and  the  palace.     More  popular  than  any 


72         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

book  that  has  ever  been  published,  its  sales,  of  millions 
of  copies  a  year  are  ever  increasing,  because  it  comes 
with  a  message  from  God  direct  to  the  heart  of  man. 

QUESTIONS 
What  is  the  Bible?  How  is  it  not  like  and  how  is  it  like 
other  books  ?  How  is  it  the  record  of  a  revelation  from 
God  ?  What  can  be  said  of  its  structure  ?  What  can  be 
said  of  its  books,  of  its  groups  of  books  ?  What  can  be  said 
of  its  credibility  ?  Give  the  arguments  from  history,  proph- 
ecy, vitality,  adaptability  and  growth. 


STUDY  VII 

THE  CHRISTIAN  PRAYER 

Scripture  references  :  Matthew  6  :  J-iJ ;  Luke  ii :  1-13 ;  John 
ij  ;  Matthew  26  :  41 ;  Mark  11 :  24,  2$  ;  Luke  6  :  12,  28  ; 
g  :  2g  ;  i  Thessalonians  _$  :  17,  25  ;  i  Corinthians  14  :  ij,  ij ; 
Halm  ig:i4;  So :  i^ ;  Matthew  7:7.'  i  Timothy  2:1; 
Ephesians  3  :  so,  21 ;  John  16  :  23  ;  14  :  14  ;  James  j  .•  16. 

THE  PROVINCE  OF  PRAYER 
Definition. — Prayer  is  the  communion  of  man  with 
God.  It  is  not  first  of  all  the  means  of  getting  some- 
thing from  God,  but  the  realization  of  Him  in  the  soul. 
"  Seek  ye  first  the  Kingdom  of  God  and  His  right- 
eousness "  (Matthew  6  :  33).  The  glory  of  a  man  is  in 
his  uprightness  of  character,  the  purity  of  his  spirit 
and  his  nearness  and  likeness  to  God.  Man  becomes 
like  that  which  he  thinks  about  the  most  often  and 
with  which  he  most  frequently  communes  in  the  secret 
recesses  of  his  heart.  Prayer  is  not  merely,  then,  a 
matter  of  stated  times  and  seasons,  although  these 
should  be  observed,  but  a  constant  walking  with  God 
and  a  realization  of  His  presence  at  all  times  and  in 
all  places  (Luke  18:1;  Romans  12:12;  i  Thessa- 
lonians 5  :  17).  The  man  who  thus  communes  with 
God  will  lay  before  Him  his  plans  and  purposes  and 
will  ask  for  direction  and  guidance  in  them  ;  he  will 
expect  help  from  God  as  a  partner  in  all  his  enter- 

73 


74         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

prises  ;  he  will  grasp  the  power  unseen  to  work  great 
things  in  the  seen.  There  will  be  special  needs  and 
occasions  when  a  man,  in  harmony  with  God  (James 
5  :  1 6),  will  require  special  help  and  for  this  aid  from 
God  he  will  make  strong  and  earnest  petitions  to 
Him,  "  Call  upon  Me  in  the  day  of  trouble  :  I  will 
deliver  thee  and  thou  shalt  glorify  Me  "  (Psalm  50:  15  ; 
James  i  :  17;  Psalm  19:  14;  Ephesians  3:  20,  21). 

The  Different  Kinds  of  Prayer. — They  are  adora- 
tion, thanksgiving,  intercession,  petition  and  praise 
(i  Timothy  2  :  i). 

The  Different  Places  of  Prayer. — i.  In  the  public 
assemblage  (Psalm  122:  i,  2;  Acts  3:1;  Hebrews 
10 :  25).  2.  In  the  social  and  family  gathering 
(Matthew  18:  19,  20;  Acts  i  :  14 ;  2:46;  12:  12). 
3.  In  private  (Matthew  6:6;  Mark  i  :  35  ;  Psalm 
55  :  17;  Daniel  6:  10). 

The  Approach  of  Man  to  God. — "  All  men  pray  at 
some  time  or  other,  whether  fitfully  or  constantly,  in 
weakness  or  in  strength,  in  sorrow  or  in  joy.  Some 
men  pray  because  it  is  their  chiefest  delight  to  do  so, 
and  some  pray  because  necessity  drives  them  to  it ; 
but  they  all  pray.  Prayer  is  a  constant  element,  and 
the  impulse  to  pray  is  ever  present  to  human  nature." 
Man  has  been  called  "  a  religious  and  praying  animal," 
because  of  this  universal  desire  of  men  to  come  into  some 
touch  with  the  power  over  them.  This  tendency  is 
shown  in  lands  where  the  true  spiritual  knowledge  of 
God  is  lacking  and  where  men  deify  and  adore  objects  of 
nature.     The  sun,  the  earth,  the  stars,  trees,  mountains. 


The  Christian  Prayer  75 

waters,  winds  and  carved  images  have  all  been  made 
divine  objects  of  adoration  and  prayer,  because  of  the 
desire  of  man  to  find  or  place  the  supernatural  in 
them.  Paul  said  to  the  men  of  Athens  when  he  saw 
the  altar  to  the  "  Unknown  God  "  :  "  Whom  there- 
fore ye  ignorantly  worship  Him  declare  I  unto  you  " 
(Acts  17  :  23).  All  the  research  of  natural  science  is 
to  find  out  what  is  the  Ultimate  Power  behind  all  the 
phenomena  of  nature.  Man  by  his  very  nature  seeks 
to  approach  God.  He  is  driven  by  an  inward  impulse 
to  come  to  Him.  Hence,  where  men  do  not  have  the 
true  light  by  which  to  approach  God  or  reject  it  there 
are  found  all  sorts  and  kinds  of  caricatures  of  religion. 

What  are  the  proper  means  of  approach  to  God 
through  prayer  ? 

I .  Right  knowledge  and  faith.  "  He  that  cometh  to 
God  must  believe  that  He  is,  and  that  He  is  a  re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  Him  "  (Hebrews 
11:6).  "  This  is  life  eternal  that  they  might  know 
Thee  the  only  true  God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  Thou 
hast  sent  "  (John  17  :  3).  God  is  above  all  and  in  all. 
There  are  no  other  gods  before  Him.  He  is  supreme, 
manifested  as  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit.  We  come 
at  once  here  to  the  Great  Personal  Power,  beyond 
whom  there  is  no  greater.  We  do  not  look  upon  Him 
as  a  cold  abstraction  or  blind  force,  but  as  a  loving, 
kind  Father.  He  desires  to  do  more  for  us  than  we 
can  ask  or  think.  No  man  prays  to  God  in  the  right 
way  who  does  not  first  of  all  have  a  proper  conception 
of  God. 


76         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

2.  Right  attitude  of  the  heart.  "  If  I  regard  in- 
iquity in  my  heart  the  Lord  will  not  hear  me  "  (Psalm 
66  :  18).  Again  the  prayerless  prayer  of  the  Pharisee 
began  with  "  I  "  and  the  burning  of  incense  before 
himself.  No  man,  cherishing  something  in  his  heart 
which  he  knows  to  be  contrary  to  the  will  of  God  or 
who  only  seeks  to  foster  and  advance  his  own  selfish 
interests,  will  come,  or  desire  to  come,  or  can  come 
into  a  very  close  communion  with  God.  A  wrong 
attitude  of  the  heart  keeps  many  men  from  the  enjoy- 
ment of  God's  presence,  and  makes  them  choose  to 
remain  away  from  His  sanctuary.  No  matter  what 
the  sin,  however,  if  a  man  truly  desires  to  get  it  out  of 
his  heart  that  man  can  come  at  once  into  close  touch 
with  God  (Isaiah  i:  15-19;  Psalm  51;  Revela- 
tion 7 :  14). 

3.  Right  subjects  of  prayer.  The  advancement  of 
the  Kingdom  of  God  and  the  spiritual  interests  of  man 
come  first.  Too  many  prayers  move  in  the  narrow 
circles  of  self  and  purely  physical  wants  ;  they  take  no 
wide  sweep  out  over  larger  interests.  God  knows  that 
we  have  physical  needs  that  must  be  supplied  (Mat- 
thew 6 :  26).  Jesus  said,  "  Is  not  the  life  more  than 
meat  and  the  body  than  raiment "  (Matthew  6  :  25)  ? 
And  by  His  urgency  He  would  have  our  prayers  rise 
higher  than  our  physical  wants  into  an  infinitely  larger 
sphere.  Then  God  will  more  than  bless  us  and  take 
care  of  those  things  about  which  we  are  now  so 
anxious  (Matthew  6  :  26-34). 

4.  Persistency  (Matthew  11 :  12).     It  is  difficult  to 


The  Christian  Prayer  77 

deny  a  persistent  man  who,  when  thwarted  in  one 
way,  begins  to  plan  and  act  for  the  object  which  he 
seeks  in  another  way  and  who  will  not  be  put  off. 
Christ  commended  the  way  of  the  persistent  man  to 
those  who  sought  God  in  prayer.  He  gave  examples 
of  the  widow  who  continually  importuned  an  unjust 
judge  until  he  listened  to  her  plea  and  gave  her  justice 
(Luke  18:  1-8),  and  of  the  man  who  would  not  take 
"  no  "  for  an  answer  when  he  wanted  to  borrow  bread 
from  a  neighbour  at  midnight  (Luke  11  :  5-8).  He 
said,  "  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you ;  seek,  and 
ye  shall  find  ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you  " 
(Luke  11:9).  Men  who  do  not  persist  in  their  pray- 
ing will  fail  to  receive  the  higher  blessings  and  the 
larger  benefits  which  otherwise  God  would  gladly  be- 
stow upon  them.  If  men  know  how  to  give  good 
gifts  to  their  children  when  they  ask  for  them,  then 
much  more  God  knows  how  to  grant  the  best  things 
to  men  when  they  ask  Him.  "  The  kingdom  of 
heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by 
force  "  (Matthew  11:12). 

The  Approach  of  God  to  Man. — How  does  God 
come  near  to  man  ?  Does  He  hear  when  men  pray  to 
Him?     Can  He  and  will  He  answer  prayer? 

These  questions  are  all  simply  and  plainly  answered 
in  the  Scriptures.  There  is  no  doubt  expressed  here 
that  God  comes  near  to  men  and  will  hear  and  answer 
when  they  pray  to  Him.  "  The  Lord  is  nigh  unto 
all  them  that  call  upon  Him,  to  all  that  call  upon  Him 
in  truth  "  (Psalm  145  :  18 ;  1 39  : 7-12 ;  Ephesians  3 :  20). 


78         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

Christian  experience  answers  these  questions  in  the 
same  affirmative  way.  Multitudes  of  Christians  testify 
that  God  comes  near  to  them  and  that  He  hears  and 
answers  their  prayers ;  there  are  many  recorded  and 
remarkable  answers  to  prayers. 

It  is  only  when  the  testimony  of  the  Bible  and  the 
experience  of  Christians  are  set  aside  that  difficulties 
appear  which  seem  very  formidable. 

One  of  the  chief  objections  urged  against  God 
hearing  and  answering  prayer  is  the  discovery  of  the 
widening  sphere  of  what  is  called  natural  law  in  the 
ordering  of  the  universe.  Where  God  was  formally 
looked  upon  as  directly  controlling  in  certain  things, 
it  is  pointed  out  that  we  now  can  plainly  state  the 
causes  and  the  working  of  the  laws  which  produce 
certain  results.  According  to  one  theory  God  is  shut 
out  of  His  universe ;  and  according  to  another,  He  is 
shut  up  in  His  universe ;  on  either  hypothesis  the  di- 
rect control  is  out  of  His  hands.  Hence,  "  why 
pray  ?  "  when  our  prayers  even  if  they  reach  God  can- 
not be  answered. 

This  objection  from  the  domination  of  law  annuls 
the  freedom  of  God.  It  is  like  looking  at  a  great 
piece  of  complicated  machinery,  and  having  it  ex- 
plained how  part  depends  upon  part  and,  because  the 
dependence  is  plainly  shown,  being  asked  to  believe 
that  the  maker  and  controller  is  under  its  power.  We 
are  asked  to-day  to  concentrate  our  attention  upon 
the  levers,  the  springs  and  the  pulleys  and  all  the 


The  Christian  Prayer  79 

machinery  of  the  universe  rather  than  upon  the  first 
great  Cause  and  Ruler  of  all. 

It  is  assumed  in  this  objection  that  much  more  is 
known  of  the  laws  and  forces  which  govern  the  uni- 
verse than  really  is.  Prof.  John  Fiske  says  in  his  lec- 
ture on  "  Life  Everlasting,"  I  once  heard  Herbert 
Spencer  say,  "  you  cannot  take  up  any  problem  in 
physics  without  being  quickly  led  to  some  metaphys- 
ical problem  which  you  can  neither  solve  nor  evade." 
Again  he  says,  "  The  more  things  we  try  to  explain, 
the  better  we  realize  that  we  live  in  a  world  of  unex- 
plained residua." 

Widening  knowledge  is  throwing  back  into  the 
lumber  room  many  much  vaunted  theories  of  origins. 
Many  wrong  conceptions  of  the  order  of  nature  have 
in  recent  years  been  radically  changed.  It  is  freely 
acknowledged  to-day  by  the  foremost  men  of  science 
that  no  man  fully  understands  the  order  of  nature. 
Under  the  present  limitations  of  human  knowledge 
God  cannot  be  shut  up  in  or  out  of  His  universe. 
Further  research  may  show  that  such  shutting  up  to 
be  impossible ;  for  in  the  end  we  are  to  depend  not 
■  upon  our  ignorance  but  upon  our  knowledge  of  the 
universe  for  God's  free  control  of  all  things. 

Already  the  light  begins  to  dawn  when  it  is  seen 
that  all  the  natural  forces  and  matter  itself  are  begin- 
ning to  reveal  their  origin  and  control  in  one  Great 
Master  Force.  But  in  this  we  but  return  to  the  bib- 
lical statement  "  In  the  beginning  God  "  (Genesis  i  :  i). 

We  are  perfectly  justified  in  believing,  in  the  intel- 


8o         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

ligence  of  God  when  we  see  so  many  evidences  of  in- 
telligence in  the  world,  and  the  freedom  and  personal- 
ity of  God,  when  we  note  the  freedom  and  personality 
of  man  ;  for  however  we  may  argue  that  man  is  not 
free  or  personal  we  believe  that  he  is  and  act  upon 
this  belief  in  all  the  practical  affairs  of  life.  The 
created  thing  is  not  greater  than  its  creator  or  the  law 
greater  than  the  lawgiver.  God  is  greater  than  the 
universe  or  man.  God  as  all  powerful,  and  as  intel- 
ligent and  personal  can  be  approached  by  man  and 
comes  near  to  him  through  his  communion  in  prayer 
with  Him. 

It  is  perfectly  possible  for  God,  in  His  providential 
wisdom  and  power,  to  answer  the  prayers  of  His  peo- 
ple. It  is  an  every-day  occurrence  for  man  to  deflect 
the  beams  of  the  sun  and  make  nature's  laws  do  what 
they  would  not  have  done  if  left  to  themselves.  We 
know  men  to  be  personal  and  to  be  changed  by  peti- 
tions to  their  mercy  and  entreaties  to  use  their  power 
in  certain  directions.  We  believe  that  God,  infinitely 
greater  than  man,  can  be  entreated  and  will  use  His 
power  for  the  benefit  of  the  petitioner.  It  is  not  un- 
reasonable for  men  to  pray  for  material  and  spiritual 
blessings.  While  the  sphere  of  prayer  may  be  narrowed 
in  certain  directions  by  what  we  know  of  nature's 
processes,  it  has  been  greatly  widened  in  other  direc- 
tions. 

THE  MODEL  PRAYER 
This  is  the  Lord's  Prayer  which  Christ  gave  His 
disciples  when  He  preached  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 


The  Christian  Prayer  8l 

(Matthew  6 :  9- 13)  and  when  one  of  His  disciples  said 
to  Him,  •'  Lord  teach  us  to  pray  "  (Luke  1 1  :  2-4). 
"  It  is  the  prayer  of  prayers.  It  is  the  best  and  most 
beautiful,  the  simplest  and  yet  the  deepest,  the  shortest 
and  yet  the  most  comprehensive  of  all  forms  of  devo- 
tion. Only  from  the  hps  of  the  Son  of  God  could 
such  a  perfect  pattern  proceed.  It  embraces  all  kinds 
of  prayer — petition,  intercession  and  thanksgiving  ;  all 
essential  objects  of  prayer,  spiritual  and  temporal,  di- 
vine and  human,  in  the  most  suitable  and  beautiful 
order." 

It  has  been  divided,  and  this  is  the  natural  division, 
into  three  parts,  an  address,  six  petitions  and  a  doxol- 

ogy. 

The  Address. — "  Our  Father  who  art  in  heaven  " 
(Matthew  6 :  9).  This  phrase  "  Our  Father  "  shows 
the  paternal  relation  which  the  Almighty  sustains  to 
us  in  Christ  and  the  filial  relation  which  we  bear  to 
Him  through  faith  in  Christ.  It  also  reminds  us  that 
since  we  have  a  common  Father  in  God,  we  are  all 
brothers  in  Christ.  The  phrase,  "  Who  art  in  heaven" 
shows  us  our  heavenly  origin  and  that  our  home  is  in 
our  Father's  house.  We  use  the  word  "  our  "  before 
Father  and  by  it  mean  to  embrace  in  prayer  all  the 
children  of  God.  In  using  the  word,  "  Father"  we  at 
once  say  we  believe  in  a  personal  good  God  at  the 
heart  of  all  things  and  controlling  all,  one  who  loves 
and  cares  for  us  supremely  (Galatians  3 :  26  ;  Ephe- 
sians  2  :  19  ;  Psalm  103  :  13;  Matthew  7:11;  John  i : 
12,  13;  Romans  8:  14,  15). 


82  Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

The  first  three  petitions  refer  to  God. 

First  Petition. — "  Hallowed  be  Thy  name  "  (Mat- 
thew 6  :  9).  God's  name  stands  also  "  for  His  word, 
His  day  and  His  commandments."  God's  name  is 
hallowed  when  we  think  and  speak  of  Him  with  rev- 
erence and  love.  Any  man  who  speaks  of  God's  name 
with  contempt  or  takes  it  in  vain  at  once  shows  his 
position  in  regard  to  God.  The  character  of  a  man 
and  of  a  community  is  shown  by  the  respect  or  disre- 
spect in  which  God's  name  is  held.  Hence  in  praying 
"  Hallowed  be  Thy  name  "  we  pray  not  only  that  God 
may  be  rightly  worshipped  but  for  the  upbuilding  of 
the  character  of  men  and  communities.  "  Holy,  holy, 
holy,  is  the  Lord  of  hosts :  the  whole  earth  is  full  of 
His  glory  "  (Isaiah  6:3;  John  17:3;  Matthew  5:16; 
I  Corinthians  10:  31  ;  Exodus  20:  7). 

Second  Petition. — "  Thy  Kingdom  come  "  (Matthew 
6  :  10),  "  This  is  the  spiritual  kingdom  of  grace  and 
glory."  The  supplication  is  here  for  the  reign  of  right- 
eousness in  all  hearts  throughout  the  world  ;  this  in- 
cludes the  building  up  of  the  home  church,  and  home 
and  foreign  missions.  It  expresses  the  desire  for  the 
conversion  of  all  nations  and  bringing  them  under  the 
dominion  of  our  Lord  (Revelation  11  :  15;  i  Corin- 
thians 15  :  28;  Matthew  9:  37,  38;  6 :  33;  13:  31-33; 
Luke  17  :  21). 

Third  Petition. — "  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is 
in  heaven  "  (Matthew  6  :  10).  The  will  of  God  con^ 
cerning  us  is  that  we  should  be  holy  as  He  is  holy 
(Leviticus    1 1  :  44)  that  we  should  be  perfect  as  He  is 


The  Christian  Prayer  83 

perfect  (Matthew  5  :  48)  and  that  we  may  believe  on 
His  Son  (John  6 :  40).  In  proportion  as  God's  will  is 
done  on  earth,  evil,  want,  misery,  oppression,  hate, 
jealousy,  vanity  and  evil  speaking  will  disappear  from 
the  earth.  We  might  then,  when  His  will  is  done  on 
earth  as  it  is  in  heaven,  shut  up  our  jails,  dismiss  our 
police  force,  close  our  courts,  and  reduce  taxes  to  a 
minimum.  When  we  offer  this  petition  we  are  asking 
for  large  things. 

The  last  three  petitions  refer  to  man  and  his  needs. 

Fourth  Petition. — •'  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread  "  (Matthew  6 :  11).  This  supplication  calls  our 
attention  to  the  fact  that  we  are  dependent  upon  God 
for  daily  food  and  that  we  are  to  ask  Him  to  supply  our 
bodily  wants.  Daily  bread  includes  food,  raiment  and 
shelter  and  all  that  belongs  to  our  temporal  necessities. 
The  answer  to  this  prayer  may  be  in  health,  bodily  and 
mental  strength  to  procure  daily  bread,  but  neverthe- 
less it  comes  from  the  hand  of  God  and  He  should  be 
thanked  for  it  as  well  as  asked  for  it  (Deuteronomy 
8  :  10;  Psalm  145  :  15,  16;  Proverbs  30:  8). 

Fifth  Petition. — "  Forgive  us  our  debts  as  we  for- 
give our  debtors  "  (Matthew  6  :  12).  The  word  debts 
here  means  sins.  In  asking  for  forgiveness  of  sins,  we 
acknowledge  that  we  have  sinned  and  are  in  need  of 
forgiveness.  We  pray  the  Father  to  forgive  us  and 
seek  in  this  way  to  be  reconciled  to  Him.  But  it  is 
through  Jesus  Christ  that  the  Father  forgives  men  their 
sins.  "  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away 
the  sin   of  the  world  "  (John   i  :  29  ;  i  John  i :  7-9 ; 


84         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

John  3:  16-19 ;  Ephesians  i:  7).  In  repeating  the 
latter  clause  of  the  petition,  "  as  we  forgive  our 
debtors "  we  acknowledge  that  we  have  not  only- 
sinned  against  God  but  also  against  our  fellow  men 
and  that  they  have  sinned  against  us  and  caused  us  to 
cherish  enmity  in  our  hearts.  If  we  desire  God's  for- 
giveness we  must  forgive  our  fellow  men  and  be  recon- 
ciled with  them  before  we  can  expect  to  come  to  God 
and  receive  His  full  forgiveness  for  our  transgressions. 
"  Be  not  overcome  of  evil  but  overcome  evil  with 
good"  (Romans  12:  20,  21).  "  If  ye  forgive  men 
their  trespasses  your  heavenly  Father  will  also  forgive 
you,  but  if  ye  forgive  not  men  their  trespasses,  neither 
will  your  Father  forgive  your  trespasses  "  (Matthew  6 : 
14,  15  ;  18:  21,  22;  Luke  17:  3,  4). 

Sixth  Petition. — •'  Lead  us  not  into  temptation,  but 
dehver  us  from  evil"  (Matthew  6:  13).  In  this  peti- 
tion we  acknowledge  our  weakness  and  proneness  to 
go  astray.  We  seek  for  God's  strong  power  to  guard 
us  from  and  in  all  temptations  of  the  flesh  and  spirit. 
We  ask  for  final  deliverance  from  the  power  and 
effects  of  all  evil.  We  look  forward  to  an  abode  with 
God  where  no  evil  can  come  to  us.  "  The  Lord  shall 
deliver  me  from  every  evil  work  and  will  preserve  me 
unto  His  heavenly  kingdom"  (2  Timothy  4:  18; 
Psalm  31:  5;  i  Peter  5:  8;  i  John  5:  4;  2:  15; 
Matthew  26:  41  ;  2  Timothy  4:  7,  8). 

The  Doxology. — "  For  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and 
the  power,  and  the  glory  forever.  Amen  "  (Matthew 
6 :  13).     This  is  an  ascription  of  praise  showing  that 


The  Christian  Prayer  85 

in  God  is  vested  all  power  and  glory,  that  there  is  no 
kingdom  above  His  kingdom  and  that  He  is  supreme 
over  all.  Before  Him  must  come  all  things  for  judg- 
ment. He  alone  is  to  be  worshipped,  for  in  Him  is 
all  power  and  truth  and  goodness.  "  Thine,  O  Lord, 
is  the  greatness,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  and  the 
victory,  and  the  majesty :  for  all  that  is  in  the  heaven 
and  in  the  earth  is  Thine ;  Thine  is  the  kingdom,  O 
Lord,  and  Thou  art  exalted  as  head  above  all" 
(i  Chronicles  29:  11,  12;  Psalm  115:  i;  Ephesians 
3:  20,  21). 

ANSWERS  TO  PRAYER 

Nothing  could  indicate  more  plainly  that  God  cares 
for  and  loves  men,  and  is  not  indifferent  to  their  wants, 
than  the  great  stream  of  prayer  flowing  through  the 
Bible.  He  is  not  a  God  afar  off,  neither  has  He 
wound  up  the  universe  as  a  great  machine  and  left  it 
to  its  fate.  He  is  in  touch  with  His  people.  He 
hears  them  when  they  cry  to  Him.  He  is  long-suffer- 
ing, merciful  and  righteous.  Happy  is  the  man  who 
loves  God  with  all  his  heart  and  who  seeks  constantly 
to  commune  with  Him. 

Notable  Instances  of  Prayer,  and  the  response  of 
God,  are  shown  in  the  following  passages  of  Scripture. 
Abraham  (Genesis  20:  17),  Jacob  (Genesis  32:  24-31), 
Moses  (Numbers  11:2),  Samuel  (i  Samuel  12:  18), 
Elijah  (i  Kings  18:  37-46),  Hezekiah  (2  Kings 
20:  2-6),  Ezra  (9:  5-15),  Daniel  (9:  5-27),  Jesus 
Christ   (Matthew  6:  6-15;  John    17),  The  Apostles 


86         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

(Acts  1 :  14;  4:  31),  Peter  (Acts  12:  5-1 1),  Paul  and 
Silas  (Acts  16:  25-32),  Prophets  and  teachers  at 
Antioch  (Acts  1 3 :  1-3)  and  Paul  and  the  elders  at 
Ephesus  (Acts  20 :  36). 

QUESTIONS 

The  province  of  prayer ;  give  a  definition  of  prayer. 
What  are  the  different  kinds  and  places  of  prayer  ?  What 
can  be  said  of  the  approach  of  man  to  God  ?  What  is  right 
knowledge  of  God  ?  Right  attitude  of  heart  to  God  ? 
Right  subjects  of  prayer  ?  What  has  persistency  to  do  in 
praying  to  God  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  approach  of 
God  to  man?  How  does  the  Bible  and  Christian  experience 
testify  of  this  approach  of  God  to  man  ?  What  is  the  great 
outside  difficulty  urged  against  God's  approach  to  man  and 
what  can  be  said  of  it  ?  What  is  the  model  prayer  ?  Give 
the  divisions  of  the  model  prayer  and  explain  them.  What 
can  be  said  of  answers  to  prayer  ? 


STUDY  VIII 

THE  CHRISTIAN  SERVICE 

Scripture  references  :  Matthew  28 :  i8~2o  ;  Luke  10  :  1-17  ;  Mat- 
t/iew  25  :  14-30  ;  2^  :  13  ;  John  13  :  4-1  j  ;  Hebrews  12  :  1-3  ; 
Matthew  5  .•  ib  ;  i  Corinthians  3  :  13-Jj  ;  James  2  :  14-26. 

THE  CALL  TO  SERVICE 

All  Christian  belief  must  culminate  in  service  or 
else  the  belief  itself  will  wither  away.  Jesus  said  in 
His  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  "  Let  your  light  so  shine 
before  men  that  they  may  see  your  good  works  and 
glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven "  (Matthew 
5:  16);  again,  in  giving  His  parting  instructions  to 
His  disciples,  He  commanded,  "  Go  ye  therefore  and 
teach  all  nations"  (Matthew  28  :  19,  20).  "  Faith,  if 
it  hath  not  works,  is  dead  "  (James  2  :  17). 

The  New  Testament  rings  with  an  optimistic 
trumpet  call  to  sei-vice ;  there  is  not  a  single  pessimis- 
tic note  sounded.  A  man  expresses  his  belief  and  he 
at  once  goes  to  work.  To  the  fact  that  men  were  so 
willing  to  lead  a  strenuous  Christian  life  in  those  early 
times  is  due  in  large  measure  the  marvellous  spread 
of  the  gospel  faith. 

The  Object  of  the  Call  was  not  a  cause  but  a  Per- 
son (Acts  i:  8;  2:  22,  36,  38;  4:  12;  10:  43; 
16:  31);  to  set  forth  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of 
men.     The    world    was    full    of    evil.     Society   was 

87 


88         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

corrupt.  The  state  was  bad.  There  were  many  giant 
wrongs  crying  out  for  the  reformer.  The  apostles 
might  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  causes  of 
social  and  political  reform  with  splendid  success. 
They  might  have  sought  only  a  gradual  and  purely 
friendly  approach  to  the  people  whom  they  wished 
to  influence,  as  we  often  do  now,  with  some  success, 
but  the  New  Testament  writings  show  that  they  be- 
lieved that  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ  they  had  a 
more  powerful  remedy  for  bad  social  and  political 
conditions  than  any  other  which  they  could  urge.  In 
Christ  they  found  a  supreme  object  of  service;  for 
Him  they  were  willing  to  give  up  houses,  lands,  posi- 
tion, even  life  itself  (2  Timothy  4 :  6-8) ;  for  only 
through  Him,  they  preached,  could  the  world  be  truly 
reformed.  Why  then  potter  with  temporary  and  minor 
remedies  when  the  permanent  and  great  remedy  was  at 
hand  ?  Times  have  changed  since  the  apostolic  days, 
but  for  any  lasting  good  in  reform  work  Christ  is  still 
the  great  remedy.  He  must  be  at  the  centre  of  all 
social,  political  and  temperance  betterments  or  they 
are  destined  to  fall  short  of  the  largest  success. 
The  Place. — Where  shall  men  serve  the  Christ  ? 
I.  In  the  heart;  there  is  a  goodness  of  conduct  on 
the  part  of  some  men  which  has  no  relation  to  their 
heart's  desire  and  is  simply  a  cloak  worn  for  appear- 
ance's sake.  With  this  sort  of  goodness  Jesus  had  no 
sympathy  and  denounced  it  as  hypocrisy  (Matthew 
6 :  1-34 ;  23 :  27,  28).  Christ's  service  must  com- 
mence with  an  inward  conformity  to  the  law  of  God. 


The  Christian  Service  89 

This  necessity  for  a  new  heart  is  very  clearly  brought 
out    in    His    conversation   with    Nicodemus    (John 

2.  In  the  home.  Jesus  said  to  a  man  whom  He 
had  healed,  •'  Go  home  to  thy  friends,  and  tell  them 
how  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for  thee  "  (Mark 
5  :  19).  Anything  that  strengthens  the  home  strength- 
ens society  and  the  state.  Good  homes  are  essential 
for  the  bringing  up  of  children  and  the  making  of 
right  characters.  But  it  is  in  the  home  that  the  real 
testing  often  comes  of  a  professed  Christianity;  if  a 
Christian  life  can  be  lived  and  manifested  here  it  is 
quite  sure  to  stand  the  outward  strain. 

3.  In  the  community.  The  disciples  of  Christ 
were  commanded  to  begin  their  first  service  in  Jeru- 
salem (Acts  I  :  4,  8),  where  Jesus  had  been  the  most 
persecuted  and  was  finally  crucified.  It  was  no  easy 
task  for  them  to  begin  to  preach  Jesus,  where  they 
were  the  most  looked  down  upon.  But  the  command 
was  justified  when  the  day  of  Pentecost  came  with  the 
marvellous  moving  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (Acts  2). 
There  can  be  no  clearer  teaching  from  this  than  that  a 
Christian  man  should  begin  to  serve  Christ,  testify  for 
Him  and  work  for  Him  in  the  community  in  which  he 
resides  no  matter  what  the  adverse  conditions  are. 
Here  is  the  sanction  for  home  missions. 

4.  Abroad.  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature  "  (Mark  16  :  15  ;  Matthew 
28:  18-20).  The  field  of  service  broadens  out  from 
the  heart  until  it  takes  in  the  whole  world  and  every 


go         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

class  and  condition  of  men.  Man  under  the  guidance 
of  Christ  is  led  not  only  to  think  of  saving  himself,  his 
home,  his  community,  but  all  homes  and  communities 
however  remote  they  may  be  from  his  own.  Here  is 
the  sanction  for  foreign  missions. 

The  urgency  of  the  call  is  everywhere  manifest  in 
the  New  Testament.  In  the  three  years  of  His  ministry 
Jesus  Christ  is  incessant  in  His  labours,  calling  upon 
men  to  turn  to  Him  (Matthew  1 1  :  28-30).  He  urges 
watchfulness,  prayerfulness,  and  earnestness  in  seeking 
to  enter  the  kingdom  of  God  (Matthew  11:12;  25  :  1 3 ; 
26 :  41 ;  Mark  14 :  38 ;  Luke  1 1  :  9,  10).  Paul  declared, 
"  Woe  is  me,  if  I  preach  not  the  gospel "  (i  Corin- 
thians 9:  16),  and  he  urges  Timothy  to  "  preach  the 
word "  and  to  be  "  instant  in  season  and  out  of 
season"  (2  Timothy  4  :  i,  2). 

A  conflict  is  going  on  in  the  world  and  those  who 
believe  in  Christ  are  besought  to  take  every  possible 
opportunity  and  every  means  to  advance  His  gospel 
and  cause  men  to  accept  Him  as  their  Saviour  (Ephe- 
sians  6:  10-18). 

THE  PATTERN  OF  SERVICE 
The  world  of  men  is  frequently  more  easily  moved 
by  the  force  of  example  than  by  precept. 

Christ  declared  Himself  to  be  the  great  exemplar 
of  the  Christian  life.  He  said,  "  I  have  given  you  an 
example  that  ye  should  do  as  I  have  done  to  you " 
(John  13  :  15  ;  12  :  32;  i  Peter  2  :  21).  He  practiced 
what  He  preached. 


The  Christian  Service  91 

Personal  Work. — In  winning  persons  to  the  new 
life  there  is  an  admitted  need  of  a  work  of  the  indi- 
vidual for  the  individual,  but  it  is  a  task  from  which 
many  draw  back.  Yet  it  is  right  here  that  the  most 
effective  service  may  be  accomplished.  Every  man 
who  receives  Christ  becomes  in  a  certain  sense  a  trustee 
to  enlist  others  in  His  service  and  to  give  to  them  the 
light  of  life.  Christ  said  to  His  followers,  "  Ye  shall 
be  witnesses  unto  Me  "  (Acts  i  :  8). 

Jesus  was  no  recluse,  He  went  out  amongst  men 
and  sought  them  (Mark  10:  45)  in  the  market-place, 
in  the  fields  and  by  the  lakeside.  Everywhere  He 
entered  into  personal  conversation,  with  those  whom 
He  met,  about  the  kingdom  of  God ;  now  it  was  with 
Nicodemus  (John  3  :  1-21),  then  again  with  the  woman 
of  Samaria  (John  4  :  4-26)  and  others.  This  personal 
work  of  Christ  with  individuals  shows  the  importance 
He  attached  to  the  winning  of  persons  one  by  one  to 
Himself.  Many  of  the  most  important  teachings  are 
brought  out  in  His  personal  conversations. 

"  The  win  one  movement "  which  has  been  inaugu- 
rated in  certain  churches  is  very  important.  It  had 
its  incentive  in  the  narrative  of  John  (i  :  40-51),  who 
tells  us  how  Andrew  won  Peter  and  Philip  won 
Nathanael  by  personal  appeals  to  follow  Christ.  If 
all  the  followers  of  Christ  in  all  the  churches  would 
each  win  one  soul  for  Christ  every  year  there  would  be 
no  more  complaints  about  decadent  churches. 

Training  Others  for  Service. — Personal  work  has 
its  limitations  in  the  time  and  strength  of  the  indi' 


92         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

vidual  who  does  it.  Jesus  thoroughly  understood  this 
fact  and  at  the  outset  of  His  ministry  began  to  train  a 
band  of  followers  who  would  carry  on  His  work  after 
His  resurrection.  Not  only  did  He  train  a  select  com- 
pany of  twelve  but  also  other  men.  We  read  in  Luke, 
the  ninth  chapter,  that  He  sent  out  His  twelve  dis- 
ciples to  do  the  work  which  He  had  been  doing,  and  in 
the  tenth  chapter  we  are  told  that "  other  seventy  "  were 
also  appointed  to  carry  on  a  similar  work.  Careful 
instructions  were  given  the  seventy  as  to  what  they 
should  do.  The  need  (Luke  10:2)  and  the  danger 
(v.  3)  of  the  work  were  impressed  upon  them.  They 
were  instructed  how  they  were  to  approach  the  people, 
what  they  were  to  teach  and  what  they  were  to  do  in 
case  they  were  rejected  (vs.  4-11).  They  returned 
from  their  journey  with  great  joy  over  its  success 
(v.  17). 

This  multiplication  of  self  through  the  inciting  and 
training  of  others  to  do  work  in  which  the  individual 
is  interested  often  leads  to  far-reaching  results.  There 
are  many  people  who  desire  to  advance  a  cause  and 
are  willing  to  devote  themselves  to  it,  but  they  have 
no  power  to  set  about  it  themselves.  There  is  any 
quantity  of  this  usable  and  helpful  material,  in  our 
churches,  ready  to  be  made  of  service  for  the  Master. 
Here  is  the  waste  that  every  professing  Christian  is 
not  set  to  advance  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  is  not 
only  what  a  Christian  may  do  himself,  but  what  he  can 
get  others  to  do,  which  counts. 

Teaching. — Many  men   go  wrong  from  erroneous 


The  Christian  Service  93 

thoughts  about  God  and  the  importance  of  a  right  char- 
acter. Too  frequently  those  who  have  come  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Christ  are  content  to  rest  satisfied 
with  it.  No  effort  is  made  to  instruct  others  in  a 
belief  which  has  helped  them.  The  church  believes 
in  a  teaching  ministry,  but  has  not  yet  come  to  fully 
believe  in  a  teaching  laity.  The  laity  for  the  most 
part  assumes  a  receptive  attitude.  Our  Bible-schools 
might  be  doubled  in  numbers  and  effectiveness  if 
Christian  men  and  women,  well  qualified  for  the  task, 
could  be  induced  to  respond  to  the  strong  demand  for 
more  teachers.  There  is  no  reason  why  Bible  instruc- 
tion and  Christian  teaching  should  be  wholly  confined 
to  Sunday.  It  is  time  that  the  church  made  an 
aggressive  move  upon  the  week-days  and  began  the 
establishment  of  night  schools  (for  a  definite  term)  for 
the  systematic  study  of  the  Bible  for  adults  and  short 
after  day  school  catechetical  classes  for  children. 
These  classes  could  and  should  be  made  auxiliary  to 
the  Sunday  Bible-school.  In  them  there  would  be 
time  for  that  larger  instruction  which  is  so  much 
needed  and  for  which  no  opportunity  is  found  under 
the  present  arrangement.  Besides,  much  talent  not 
available  upon  Sunday,  at  the  time  of  the  session  of 
the  Bible-school,  might  be  utilized.  This  is  an  age  of 
clubs  organized  for  the  study  of  ancient  and  modern 
secular  literature,  where  careful  and  scholarly  papers 
are  read  upon  subjects  given  out  long  in  advance. 
This  study-club  idea  ought  to  be  utilized  by  the 
church   for  the   investigation   of   the  best  literature 


94         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

which  the  world  knows,  namely,  that  found  in  the 
Bible. 

Jesus  said,  "  Go  teach  "  (Matthew  28 :  19,  20),  and 
He  Himself  taught  the  people  in  large  and  small 
groups  (Matthew  5  :  i,  2),  on  a  mountain,  in  the  syna- 
gogue (Matthew  4:  23;  Mark  i  :  21),  by  the  seaside 
(Mark  2:  13),  in  the  temple  (Matthew  26:  55),  as  He 
walked  through  the  fields  and  when  He  went  to  feasts 
and  social  gatherings.  He  had  ever  in  mind  His 
teaching  mission.  He  set  an  example  of  persistent 
and  painstaking  instruction  of  the  people  under  bitter 
opposition  and  in  adverse  circumstances.  He  said,  in 
encouraging  His  disciples  to  persevere  in  their  teach- 
ing, "  Remember  the  word  that  I  said  unto  you,  the 
servant  is  not  greater  than  his  Lord.  If  they  have 
persecuted  Me  they  will  also  persecute  you ;  if  they 
have  kept  My  saying  they  will  keep  yours  also " 
(John  15  :  20). 

\Vorks  of  Mercy  and  Love. — Jesus  was  the  supreme 
embodiment  of  mercy  and  love.  Possessed  of  al- 
mighty power  He  used  it  not  for  honour  or  for  selfish 
purposes,  but  to  heal  and  help  men  (Matthew  11:5; 
9:  36;  14:  14;  15:  32;  20:  34;  Mark  1:41;  6:  34; 
Luke  7 :  13).  Modern  philanthropy  had  its  origin  in 
Him.  All  the  modern  state  institutions  for  the  care 
of  the  poor,  the  blind,  the  crippled,  the  sick  are  in  ex- 
istence to-day  because  of  the  teaching  and  example  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Before  He  came  to  earth  and  taught 
men  how  to  be  compassionate  towards  the  unfortunate 
ones  there  were  no  such  institutions. 


The  Christian  Service  95 

Wherever  Jesus  went,  when  He  was  in  bodily  form 
upon  this  earth,  the  people  thronged  Him  for  the  heal- 
ing touch.  This  is  another  way  in  which  the  followers 
of  Christ  may  reach  men,  namely  through  the  healing 
touch.  In  the  fierce  struggle  in  the  world,  for  a 
living  and  a  position,  many  men  are  worsted  and 
trampled  upon ;  such  men  need  the  brotherly  help  of 
those  who  have  been  with  Christ.  There  are  many 
sick,  discouraged  and  poor ;  here  is  a  large  field  for 
this  service  of  mercy  and  love. 

Suffering. — There  is  a  ministry  of  suffering  in  taking 
and  bearing  the  burdens  of  others.  "  For  it  became 
Him  (Christ),  for  whom  are  all  things  and  by  whom 
are  all  things,  in  bringing  many  sons  unto  glory,  to 
make  the  captain  of  their  salvation  perfect  through 
suffering"  (Hebrews  2:  10).  This  suffering  of  Christ 
is  represented  by  the  New  Testament  writers  as  having 
an  object  in  the  salvation  of  man  and  bringing  him  to 
glory  (Romans  8:  18;  2  Corinthians  i:  5-7;  He- 
brews 2:9;  I  Peter  i  :  1 1  ;  4 :  i  3  ;  5  :  i  ;  Philippians 
3  :  10). 

Isaiah  said  of  Christ,  "  He  was  wounded  for  our 
transgressions.  He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities  :  the 
chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  Him  ;  and  with 
His  stripes  we  are  healed"  (Isaiah  53:  5).  We  are 
urged  to  follow  the  example  set  by  Christ  (Philippians 
2  :  5-1 1)  in  His  humility  and  suffering  for  a  great  pur- 
pose. "  In  every  age  Christ's  sufferings  attract  to  Him 
the  hearts  of  men ;  for  they  prove  the  boundless  ex- 
tent of  His  love,  His  absolute  unselfishness,  and  His 


96         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

loyalty  to  truth  and  principle  even  unto  death.  Thus 
they  have  power  with  men."  In  following  Christ,  and 
placing  Him  in  a  right  light  before  men,  Christians 
must  have  a  devotion  to  Him  which  will  endure  and 
stand  steadfast  through  suffering.  It  is  often  only 
through  the  sacrifice  of  self  that  the  best  things  in 
hfe  are  attained.  "  If  so  be  we  suffer  with  Him 
that  we  may  be  also  glorified  together.  For  I  reckon 
that  the  sufferings  of  the  present  time  are  not  worthy 
to  be  compared  with  the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed 
in  us  "  (Romans  8  :  17,  18). 

THE  JOY  OF  SERVICE 

Jesus  is  represented  as  doing  His  work  through 
love  (John  3  :  16),  and  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
Him  (Hebrews  12  :  2). 

The  Search  for  Happiness. — How  can  I  be  happy  ? 
This  is  the  great  question  with  multitudes  of  people. 
Men  seek  joy  with  the  same  eagerness  that  they  dig 
for  gold.  Yet  this  world  is  a  sad  one,  full  of  care, 
sickness,  anxiety  and  sorrow.  Many  are  the  railei-s  at 
fate  and  circumstances  which  keep  them  from  realizing 
the  object  of  their  search. 

The  failure  to  find  happiness  arises  in  large  part 
from  going  wrongly  about  it.  Men  seek  happiness 
through  relaxation  and  the  lowering  of  the  moral 
standards.  Men  ask,  why  should  we  obey  this  or  that 
law  of  God,  man  or  our  moral  nature,  if  it  bars  the 
way  to  our  enjoyment  ?  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink  for 
to-morrow  we  die  "  ;  and  eating  and  drinking  they  go 


The  Christian  Service  97 

out  into  a  wild  and  barren  land  of  sorrow.  Again 
men  seek  happiness  through  the  abundance  of  things  ; 
as  if  a  human  soul,  born  in  the  image  of  God,  could 
be  satisfied  with  mere  things. 

The  Conditions  of  Christian  Happiness. — Christ,  as 
the  Great  Pattern  of  life,  showed  that  true  happiness 
must  be  attained  through  the  mastery  of  the  situation, 
the  victory  over  temptation  (Matthew  4 :  i-i  i),  and 
the  hardest  and  most  adverse  circumstances  of  life 
(Hebrews  12:3;  Philippians  2  :  8-10 ;  2:1,2;  Mat- 
thew 16:  21-27).  There  is  no  greater  joy  than  that 
of  the  victors  in  a  hard  fought  battle.  Heaven  is  for 
conquerors  (Revelation  15  :  2,  3;  17:  14)-  It  is  the 
man  who  has  gone  down  into  the  tumult  and  uproar 
of  the  arena  of  life  and  fought  and  conquered  in  some 
good  cause  who  tastes  the  supreme  cup  of  happiness. 
The  master  words  of  the  Christ  were,  "  fight," 
"  watch,"  "  pray  "  ;  here  is  the  entrance  to  the  Utopia 
so  long  sought  by  men.  The  man  who  has  no  con- 
trol over  his  appetites,  passions  and  temper,  and  who 
cannot  endure  hardness  in  a  service  in  which  he  is  in- 
terested, can  never  know  what  genuine  joy  is.  Read 
the  roll  call  of  the  heroes  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
Hebrews. 

1.  A  great  object  in  view.  There  can  be  no  greater 
object  than  to  serve  Christ  in  all  the  relations  of  life 
(Matthew  6  :  33  ;   10  :  38  ;  8  :  22  ;  16  :  24  ;  19  :  21). 

2.  Harmony  with  the  will  of  God  (Matthew  6:  10). 

3.  Endurance.  Paul  exhorts  Timothy,  "  Thou 
therefore  my  son,  be  strong  in  the  grace  that  is  in 


98         Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

Christ  Jesus.  And  the  things  that  thou  hast  heard  of 
me  among  many  witnesses,  the  same  commit  thou  to 
faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also. 
Thou  therefore  endure  hardness,  as  a  good  soldier  of 
Jesus  Christ  "  (2  Timothy  2  :  1-3).  It  was  this  quality 
of  endurance  in  service  which  Jesus  sought  to  set 
before  His  followers  in  the  strongest  light  (Matthew 
10:  22  ;  24:  13). 

Here  then  are  the  elements  of  the  greatest  human 
happiness  and  a  divine  joy.  It  is  only  as  the  human 
heart  is  thus  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  enlight- 
enment of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  He  can  be  received  in 
His  glory,  which  He  desires  to  impart  to  men  and  to 
bring  them  into  joyous  fellowship  with  the  Father  and 
the  Son. 

QUESTIONS 
What  is  the  call  to  service  ?  What  is  the  object  of  the 
call  ?  Where  shall  men  serve  the  Christ  ?  How  shall  men 
serve  the  Christ  in  the  heart,  home,  community,  abroad? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  urgency  of  the  call  to  service  ? 
What  is  the  pattern  of  service  ?  What  can  be  said  of  per- 
sonal work,  training  others  for  service,  teaching,  works  of 
mercy  and  love,  suffering?  What  is  the  joy  of  service? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  search  for  happiness  ?  What  are 
the  conditions  of  Christian  happiness  in  service  ? 


STUDY  IX 

THE  CHRISTIAN  CHURCH 

Scripture  references  :  i  Corinthians  j  .•  ii  ;  j  :  b-g  ;  Colossians 
I :  i8  ;  Acts  2  :  47  ;  Ephesians  5  .•  23-27  ;  Matthew  ib  :  16,  18  ; 
18  :  17  ;  Acts  j; :  11, 12  ;  13  :  z,  2  ;  14  :  2j  ;  ib  :  5  ;  i  Corinthians 
II  :  18-34  ;  12  :  28-31 ;  i  Thessalonians  1:1;  2  :  14  ;  i  Tim- 
othy 3  :  /J"  /  Hebrews  12  :  22,  23  ;  Revelation  1  :  4,  11,  20  ; 
a  •  7,  II ;  22  :  ib  ;  22  :  12-1^,  17. 

THE  FOUNDATION  OF  THE  CHURCH 
What  is  the  Christian  Church  ? — One  of  the  best 
definitions  is  as  follows :  "  The  church  consists  of  all 
who  acknowledge  the  Divine  Lord,  Jesus  Christ,  the 
blessed  Saviour  of  mankind,  who  give  credit  to  His 
gospel,  and  who  hold  His  sacraments,  the  seals  of 
eternal  life,  in  honour."  Another  definition  is  :  "  The 
church  is  a  holy  kingdom  established  by  God  on 
earth,  of  which  Christ  is  the  invisible  King."  There 
are  some  organizations  calling  themselves  Christian 
churches  which  have  substituted  certain  philosophical 
doctrines  in  place  of  the  principles  of  Jesus  Christ,  but 
it  is  a  fact  of  history  that  in  proportion  as  the  Divine 
Lordship  of  Christ  has  been  exalted  the  greater  has 
been  the  growth  of  the  church.  The  church  has 
been  able  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  people  as  He  has 
been  lifted  up  (John  12  :  32)  that  men  might  turn  to 
Him  for  light  and  life  (John  1:4;  8:12;  12  :  46; 
Matthew  1 1  :  27-30). 

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loo       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

The  Head  of  the  Church  is  Jesus  Christ.  When 
Simon  Peter  made  the  declaration,  "  Thou  art  the 
Christ  the  Son  of  the  Hving  God,"  Jesus  said  unto 
him,  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Barjona:  for  flesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  but  My  Father 
which  is  in  heaven.  And  I  say  unto  thee,  That  thou 
art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  My  church  " 
(Matthew  i6:  16-18;  Ephesians  2:  20).  "  The  ques- 
tion is,  What  is  this  rock  ?  The  Romanists  say,  '  It 
is  Peter ' ;  but  Christ  did  not  so  say.  His  statement 
was, '  Thou  art  Petros  and  on  this  petra  I  will  build 
My  church.'  The  words  are  cognate  but  not  identical ; 
the  former  is  masculine  and  the  latter  feminine ;  petra 
is  a  rock ;  Petros  is  a  stone  hewn  out  of  the  rock." 
When  Christ  uttered  these  words  He  was  on  His  way 
to  Jerusalem  where  He  was  to  be  crucified.  In  the 
face  of  the  cross,  the  Master  was  preparing  His 
disciples  for  a  great  trial  and  the  time  when,  in  bodily 
presence,  He  should  depart  from  the  earth.  It  was 
necessary  that  He  should  now  speak  plainly  in  regard 
to  Himself  and  His  mission. 

Paul,  in  writing  to  the  Colossians,  said  of  Christ, 
"  And  He  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  church :  who 
is  the  beginning,  the  first-born  from  the  dead ;  that  in 
all  things  He  might  have  the  preeminence"  (Colos- 
sians 1 :  18;  compare  Ephesians  i  :  22,  23). 

However  Christian  churches  may  differ  from  each 
other  in  form  of  government  and  in  other  matters 
they  are  united  in  the  great  essential  doctrine  of  the 
Headship  of  Christ,  this  is  their  strong  bond  of  union. 


The  Christian  Church  loi 

A  Divine  Institution. — The  Christian  church  was 
not  organized  by  any  one  man  or  a  company  of  men, 
but  was  given  to  man  as  an  expression  of  the  com- 
passion of  God  (John  3:  16-21),  that  in  it  men  might 
associate  themselves  together  for  the  proper  worship 
of  God  and  that  they  might  draw  near  to  tiim 
(Hebrews  10:  19-25). 

1.  The  beginning  of  the  organization  of  the 
church  was  in  the  upper  room,  where  Jesus  partook 
of  the  last  supper  with  His  disciples  (Matthew 
26 :  20-30).  Here  He  showed  the  significance  of  His 
death  (v.  28),  His  relation  to  the  Father  (John  14  :  9), 
and  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Spirit  (John  14:  16,  17; 
15:  26,  27).  In  the  last  instructions  given  by  Jesus, 
and  His  prayer  (John  14:  1-17:  26)  we  have  a  body 
of  teaching  which  constitutes  the  basis  of  the  faith  of 
the  church. 

2,  The  completion  of  the  organization  of  the 
church  was  in  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the 
day  of  Pentecost  (Acts  2  :  1-24,  32,  36-41),  which  the 
disciples  had  been  commanded  to  await  in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem  (Acts  i  :  6-8,  14).  Those  who  accepted 
the  word  which  had  been  preached  through  the  Holy 
Spirit  were  baptized  (2:  41).  "  The  Lord,"  not  men, 
"  added  to  the  church  daily  such  as  should  be  saved  " 
(Acts  2 :  47). 

Ordinances  and  Faith. — The  church,  with  its  or- 
dinances of  the  Lord's  Supper  and  Baptism,  its  faith 
in  God  the  Father,  in  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  and  in  the 
Holy  Spirit,  now  begins  its  victorious  career. 


102       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

Human  Elements. — The  divine  institution  of  the 
church  has  been  subject  to  the  admixture  of  human 
elements,  there  was  a  traitor  amongst  the  twelve 
apostles.  The  organization  and  the  doctrines  have 
been  tampered  with  in  the  interest  of  human  ambitions 
and  the  pride  of  human  philosophy,  but  no  institution 
has  shown  itself  so  adapted  to  satisfy  the  great  needs 
of  men  of  all  conditions  of  life,  to  purge  itself  when 
the  human  elements  proved  too  great  a  burden,  and  to 
outlast  all  man-made  organizations. 

Authority  and  Teaching. — The  church  and  its 
ministers  have  authority  to  teach  through  Christ  and 
what  He  has  commanded.  There  is  a  certain  and 
quite  definite  body  of  truth.  This  body  of  truth, 
preached  in  the  heart  of  heathendom  or  in  the  most 
fashionable  church,  in  the  most  highly  civilized 
country,  is  quite  sure  to  produce  certain  definite  re- 
sults in  awakening  men  from  their  sins  and  causing 
them  to  lead  a  new  life.  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
know  them  "  (Matthew  7  :  15-20). 

Jesus  said,  "  All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in  heaven 
and  in  earth.  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all  nations, 
baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Teaching  them  to  ob- 
serve all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you : 
and  lo  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of 
the  world"  (Matthew  28:  18-20;  Luke  10:  22; 
John  3:  35;  5:  32;  13:  3;  17:  2;  Acts  2:  36; 
Romans  14 :  9). 

Paul  said,  "  For  other  foundation  can  no  man  lay 


The  Christian  Church  J03 

than  that  is  laid,  which  is  Jesus  Christ"  (i  Corinthians 

Form. — The  word  church,  in  the  New  Testament,  is 
used  in  three  senses  to  denote  the  differences  in  the 
form. 

1.  The  local  congregation  worshipping  in  a  house 
(Philemon  2;  Colossians  4:  15)  or  a  certain  place  as, 
"  The  church  of  God  which  is  at  Corinth  "  (i  Corin- 
thians I  :  2)  and  "  the  church  of  the  Thessalonians  " 
(i  Thessalonians  i  :  i).  This  is  much  the  most  fre- 
quent use  of  the  word. 

2.  The  entire  community  of  Christians  throughout 
the  world  or  some  portions  of  it  (i  Corinthians  15:9; 
Galatians  1:13;  Matthew  16:  18). 

3.  The  total  company  of  the  redeemed,  the  bride 
of  Christ  (Ephesians  5:  23,  25,  27,  30;  Hebrews 
12:  23). 

The  Life  of  the  Early  Church,  as  we  have  seen, 
had  its  origin  in  Jesus  Christ.  Those  who  came  into 
the  church,  did  so  because  of  their  belief  in  Him  and 
acceptance  of  Him  as  their  Saviour. 

1.  The  organization  was  simple;  each  church 
looked  to  Christ  as  its  head  (i  Corinthians  i :  2-18,  30; 
Ephesians  5  :  23). 

2.  The  officers  were  appointed  for  certain  neces- 
sary duties  (Acts  6 ;  20  :  17-23  ;  Titus  i  :  5-7) ;  it  was 
the  Lord  who  called  men  into  certain  vocations  for  the 
edifying  of  the  church  (Ephesians  4:  11,  12;  i  Corin- 
thians 12:  27,  28). 

3.  The  time  of  meeting  was  upon  the  first  day  of 


104       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

the  week  (Acts  20 :  7 ;  i  Corinthians  16:2),  thus  com- 
memorating the  resurrection  of  the  Lord  (John  20: 
I,  19;  Luke  24:  I ;  Mark  16:  2;  Matthew  28:  i). 

4.  The  aim  was  to  build  up  pure  and  godly  lives 
(Titus  2:  1-15)  and  to  bring  all  men  into  fellowship 
with  the  Master.  There  was  an  intense  enthusiasm 
for  the  faith  and  propagation  of  it.  There  was  an 
extraordinary  religious  elevation  and  purity  of  con- 
duct. The  churches  set  themselves  to  eradicate  the 
selfishness  in  man,  out  of  which  all  forms  of  injustice 
sprang  and  aimed  to  affect  the  moral  renovation  of 
the  individual  and  of  society.  There  were  abuses 
which  arose  out  of  the  former  lives  of  believers ;  it  is 
surprising,  considering  the  evil  influences  surrounding 
the  early  churches,  that  they  were  so  few. 

5.  But  there  arose  in  the  midst  of  a  gross  heathen- 
ism, with  all  its  great  immoralities,  a  rapidly  growing 
community,  which  demanded  purity  of  life  and  con- 
duct from  its  communicants  and  supreme  allegiance 
to  Christ,  the  Lord  and  Saviour ;  how  strong  it  was  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  the  Roman  Empire  tried  to 
stamp  it  out,  failed,  and  was  taken  captive  itself  by 
the  religion  it  had  despised. 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  MODERN  CHURCH 

The  Chief  End  of  the  Church  is  to  carry  on  the 

work   which   brought   Christ   into   the   world   (Luke 

19:10;    17:33;   15:1-24;   24:48;  Acts  1:8).     All 

things  should  be  made  to  serve  this  purpose. 

The  Activities  and  methods  of  work  have  a  wide 


The  Christian  Church  105 

range.  What  is  highly  successful  in  one  community 
may  prove,  however,  a  failure  in  another.  The  means, 
which  produce  large  results  at  one  time,  tried  again  in 
the  same  place,  at  another  time,  sometimes  show  small 
or  no  results. 

The  problem  of  each  church  and  community  needs 
to  be  studied,  that  means  may  be  properly  adjusted 
and  adapted  to  the  ends  sought  to  be  accomplished. 
It  is  remarkable  how  Jesus  adapted  Himself  to  the 
times  and  circumstances.  He  said  to  Peter  and  An- 
drew, "  Follow  Me  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of 
men"  (Matthew  4:  19);  He  spoke  to  them  in  a  lan- 
guage they  were  able  to  comprehend ;  to  fish  for  fish 
meant  care,  understanding  of  their  habits  and  much 
toil  to  accomplish  the  desired  results.  In  the  conver- 
sations with  Nicodemus  and  the  women  of  Samaria 
Jesus  arrives  at  the  same  end  but  uses  entirely  dif- 
ferent means.  The  letters  of  Paul  fit  exactly  the 
needs  of  the  churches  to  which  they  are  addressed. 

It  is  the  really  earnest  spirit  desiring  to  bring  men 
to  Christ  which  will  produce  the  largest  results ;  this 
spirit  appeals  to  men  and  compels  them  to  listen ; 
hence  it  is  the  cultivation  of  this  spirit  which  is  most 
earnestly  commended.  Mere  machinery  of  effort  is 
doomed  to  failure,  but  when  the  living  spirit  is  in  the 
wheels  and  is  adequate  to  the  moving  of  them,  the 
results  are  sure  to  be  large.  The  disciples  of  Christ 
knew  all  the  facts  about  Christ's  life,  death  and  resur- 
rection, but  they  were  not  equipped  for  their  great 
work  until  after  they  had  spent  much  time  in  prayer 


lo6       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

and  tlie  Holy  Spirit  had  come  in  power ;  then  they 
became  mighty  men  in  the  upbuilding  of  the 
church. 

Worship. — "  Men  not  only  need  to  be  urged  to  be 
true  to  their  consciences,  but  their  consciences  need 
to  be  informed."  One  of  the  great  functions  of  the 
church  is  to  teach  men  how  to  worship  God  aright; 
to  do  this  they  must  have  right  thoughts  about  God. 
Jesus  said,  "  God  is  a  Spirit :  and  they  that  worship 
Him  must  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth " 
(John  4 :  24).  Men  must  be  led  in  their  worship  by  a 
proper  exposition  of  the  Scriptures,  by  prayer  and  by 
praise.  The  place  of  the  church  in  this  matter  is 
clearly  defined  in  the  New  Testament,  it  can  be  taken 
by  no  other  institution ;  and  no  other  organization  has 
so  high  a  mission  as  this,  to  bring  man  into  harmony 
with  God. 

Fellowship. — Man  is  a  social  being  and  he  seeks 
contact  with  his  fellow  men.  Many  of  the  worldly 
ways  in  which  this  fellowship  is  sought  are  ways 
which  lead  to  the  wrecking  of  man,  body  and  soul,  or 
to  the  obliteration  of  all  the  finer  feelings.  The  mis- 
sion of  the  Christian  Church  is  to  strengthen  the  social 
bond  by  seeking  to  cultivate  all  the  better  impulses 
and  finer  feelings  in  man,  and  to  place  society  on  a 
firmer  footing  in  love,  purity  and  righteousness  (i  John 
1:3;   1:5;  Acts  2  :  42  ;   i  Corinthians  i :  9). 

Bible  Study. — Christianity  is  a  book  religion  as  well 
as  one  in  which  God  enters  into  spiritual  communion 
with  man.     The  Church  has  ever  acknowledged  its 


The  Christian  Church  107 

duty  to  teach  the  Scriptures,  for  in  them  it  finds  the 
truths  which  it  desires  to  inculcate  (John  5  :  39). 

Evangelization. — Beyond  the  bounds  of  the  Church 
there  are  those,  near  and  far  away,  who  need  to  be 
taught  about  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  More  and 
more  the  church  is  feeling  the  responsibility  for  the 
welfare  of  individuals  and  of  society  and  of  the  state. 
If  there  are  great  evils  and  giant  wrongs  which  need 
to  be  remedied,  they  have  their  origin  in  the  evil  in 
men's  hearts.  For  the  cure  of  bad  hearts  there  is  no 
remedy  in  all  the  world  save  that  given  by  Jesus 
Christ.  Hence  the  activity  of  the  church  in  seeking 
to  evangelize  men  not  only  at  home  but  throughout 
the  world. 

There  are  three  things  which  every  church  needs  to 
realize  in  order  that  this  work  may  be  prosecuted  with 
the  utmost  vigour  and  enthusiasm. 

1.  A  clear  conception  of  what  the  church  is  and 
its  relations  to  God  and  man. 

2.  The  opening  of  the  eyes  to  the  fact  of  sin  in  the 
world  and  its  destructive  power  upon  the  soul  of  man, 
here  and  hereafter  (i  John  1:8;  Romans  5:  12; 
John  8:  34;  Matthew  18:  7-11). 

3.  That  the  only  real  help  or  salvation  of  man's 
soul  is  through  our  Divine  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ.  "  Neither  is  there  salvation  in  any  other :  for 
there  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved"  (Acts  4:  12; 
16:  30,  31;  Philippians  2 :  10 ;  i  John  2:  12; 
Romans  10  :  13 ;  i  John  I  :  7,  9 ;  Matthew  9 :  6). 


lo8       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

The  Equipment  for  the  carrying  on  and  extension 
of  this  work  cannot  be  too  good.  The  cause  fre- 
quently lags  from  making  it  one  of  the  interests  of  life 
and  not  the  chief  care.  Every  church  building  should 
express  in  usefulness  and  beauty,  in  all  its  appoint- 
ments, man's  thought  of  a  temple  erected  to  the  great 
and  living  God. 

THE  HOPE  OF  THE  CHURCH 
The  Establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  Upon 
Earth. — The  prophets  of  the  Old  Testament  had  two 
great  thoughts  which  they  continually  presented, 
namely,  the  coming  of  the  Messianic  King  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Messianic  kingdom.  Isaiah 
said,  "  Unto  us  a  Child  is  born,  unto  us  a  Son  is  given  : 
and  the  government  shall  be  upon  His  shoulder  and 
He  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  Mighty 
God,  The  Everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace. 
Of  the  increase  of  His  government  and  peace  there 
shall  be  no  end  "  (9 :  6,  7), 

When  John  the  Baptist  came,  he  proclaimed  the 
coming  of  this  King  and  kingdom  (Matthew  3 :  11,  12 ; 
John  I  :  1-28)  and  when  he  saw  Jesus  he  said,  "  Be- 
hold the  Lamb  of  God  which  taketh  away  the  sin  of 
the  world.  This  is  He  of  whom  I  said,  After  me 
Cometh  a  man  who  is  preferred  before  me :  for  He  was 
before  me"  (John  i:  29-33).  "  And  I  saw  and  bare 
record  that  this  is  the  Son  of  God  "  (v.  34). 

Jesus  spoke  much  about  His  kingdom,  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  and  the  kingdom  of  God.     He  sought 


The  Christian's  Church  109 

to  explain  by  many  parables  and  by  direct  discourse 
what  this  kingdom  was  like ;  it  is  mentioned  by  name 
many  times  in  the  New  Testament  (Matthew  13:  11, 
19,  24,  31,  33,  44,  45.  47,  52;  22:  2;  25:  I).  He 
claimed  that  He  was  the  Messianic  King  (Matthew 
26:  63,64;  27:  II,  37;  26:  53,  54;  16:  16,  17;  John 
14:  9;  Luke  22:  67,  69;  John  18:  37;  Mark  14: 
61,  62),  and  the  Son  of  God.  He  declared  that  before 
Him  all  nations  should  come  to  be  judged  (Matthew 
25  :  31-46).  As  in  the  Old  Testament  so  in  the  New 
Testament  the  world-wide  character  of  this  kingdom 
of  God  is  plainly  shown. 

There  are  Four  Conceptions  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  set  forth  in  the  Bible,  i.  The  reign  of  God 
over  all  His  creatures.  2.  The  reign  of  God  over 
men  and  nations.  3.  The  reign  of  God  over  Israel. 
4.  "The  reign  of  God  as  Divine  Love  over  human 
hearts,  believing  in  Him  and  constrained  thereby  to 
yield  Him  grateful  affection  and  devoted  love."  It  is 
this  fourth  conception  which  is  most  prominently  set 
forth  in  the  New  Testament.  The  special  work  of 
Christ  on  earth  was  to  reveal  the  supreme  rule  of  Di- 
vine Love. 

The  Church  and  the  Kingdom. — It  is  the  care  of 
the  church  to  forward  the  establishment  of  this  king- 
dom of  Divine  Love  everywhere,  in  the  heart  of  the 
individual,  in  society,  in  the  business  world  and  in  the 
national  life.  For  this  we  pray,  as  Christ  taught  us, 
"  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as 
it  is  in  heaven  "  (Matthew  6 :  10). 


110       Studies  in  the  Life  of  tlie  Christian 

QUESTIONS 

What  is  the  Christian  Church  ?  Define  it.  Who  is  the 
Head  of  the  church  ?  How  is  the  church  a  divine  insti- 
tution ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  beginning  and  completion 
of  the  organization  ?  What  are  the  ordinances  ?  What  can 
be  said  of  the  human  elements  ?  Where  is  the  authority 
and  ground  of  teaching  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  forms  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  the  life  of  the  early  church  ?  What  is 
the  chief  end  of  the  church?  What  can  be  said  of  the 
activities  of  the  modern  church  ?  What  of  the  worship  ? 
What  of  the  fellowship  ?  What  three  things  are  necessary 
to  keep  clearly  in  mind,  in  the  work  of  evangelization? 
What  ought  the  church  equipment  to  be  ?  What  is  the 
hope  of  the  church  ?  What  are  the  four  conceptions  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  ?  What  is  the  chief  conception  ?  What 
can  be  said  of  the  church  and  the  kingdom  ? 


STUDY  X 

THE  CHRISTIAN  HOME 

Scripture  references  :  Ephesians  6  :  7-9  ;  j"  /  2j-jj  ;  Colossidm 
J  .•  iy-2^  ■;  r  Corinthians  7  .•  i2-if  ;  Mark  10  :  2-12  ;  7  .•  g-13  ; 
J  :  ig  ;  i  Timothy  S  ■'  4  !  Luke  ij  ;  6  /  Tittts  2  :  1-/JI ;  Exodus 
20  :  12,  77  /  Deuteronomy  6  :  i-g. 

THE  HOME 

What  is  a  Home  ? — It  has  been  answered  that,  "  It 
is  the  unit  of  society."  It  has  also  been  pointed  out 
that  this  unit  must  be  kept  clean,  pure  and  right,  in 
all  its  relations,  or  society  and  the  state  will  suffer 
grave  consequences.  Certainly,  in  the  past,  the  insti- 
tutions of  society  and  state  have  been  seriously  weak- 
ened only  when  the  moral  decay  of  the  family  has  first 
set  in.  There  are  many  organizations  which  have  for 
their  special  care  the  fostering  of  the  social  and 
political  hfe,  while  the  strengthening  of  home  ties  has 
been  sadly  neglected. 

To  the  individual  the  good  character  of  the  home  is 
of  the  utmost  importance,  for  his  growth  in  all  the 
finer  things  which  pertain  to  morality  and  spirituality. 

The  Difference  in  Homes. — One  ideal  of  a  home 
begins  and  ends  with  the  externals  ;  a  great  house, 
a  splendid  service  and  fine  furnishings.  Everything 
is  here  made  to  bend  to  the  more  or  less  perfect 
realization    of  this   material   ideal.     When  all  is  at- 

III 


1 1 2       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

tained  that  is  possible  in  this  direction,  and  this  end, 
and  only  this  end,  is  sought  of  outer  adornment,  it 
is  found  that  the  essentials  of  a  true  home  life  have 
been  missed. 

Another  ideal  seeks  for  the  cultivation  of  love  be- 
tween husband  and  wife,  and  all  the  members  of  the 
family.  Care  and  forbearance  are  urged  and  com- 
mended in  speech  and  action.  There  are  set  forth  a 
mutual  kindness,  a  careful  consideration  of  the  feelings 
and  a  helpfulness  in  bearing  burdens,  which  exalt 
the  soul  and  make  life  worth  hving.  According  as 
this  ideal  is  striven  for,  and  attained,  will  the  true 
home  be  realized. 

Many  a  man  has  wrecked  his  business,  betrayed 
his  friends  and  gone  down  to  a  dishonoured  grave  in 
the  struggle  to  surround  his  family  with  luxuries 
which  he  could  not  afford,  but  no  man  ever  sincerely 
tried  to  cultivate  the  graces  of  love  and  kindness  in 
himself  and  in  his  family,  who  did  not  succeed,  in 
a  large  measure,  in  realizing  the  great  purpose  of  the 
home. 

The  True  Home  may  be  found,  and  is  found,  in 
great  houses  and  in  small  houses,  where  there  is  large 
wealth  and  where  there  is  dire  poverty.  It  is  not 
dependent  upon  circumstances  but  independent. 

The  great  essential  is  love  for  those  things  which 
make  a  beautiful  and  strong  character.  Low  standards 
of  truth  and  morality  in  the  family  tend  to  reproduce 
themselves  in  exaggerated  forms  in  the  social  life  of 
the  community.     Individuals,  coming  out  of  families 


The  Christian  Home  1 13 

where  there  is  no  love  for  the  good  and  no  regard 
for  righteousness,  often  become  a  serious  threat  to 
peace  and  good  order.  No  educational  system  can 
do  very  much  for  children  with  an  evil  family 
environment.  On  the  other  hand  the  world  is  full 
of  examples  of  men,  trained  up  in  righteousness  by 
their  parents,  who  have  strictly  kept  to  the  path  in 
which  their  feet  were  started. 

THE  IDEAL  CHRISTIAN  HOME 
Jesus  honoured  the  home.  His  birthplace  was 
mean  (Luke  2:7)  so  far  as  external  things  go.  The 
house  and  the  city,  where  His  parents  lived,  showed 
plainly  the  poor  estate  of  the  family  which,  while  it 
was  of  noble  lineage,  was  greatly  reduced  in  circum- 
stances. Jesus  Himself  learned  and  practiced  the 
trade  of  a  carpenter.  In  living  in  this  home  at 
Nazareth  for  thirty  years  of  His  life  Jesus  showed 
that  it  was  possible  under  hard  outward  conditions  to 
live  a  noble  life  and  to  cultivate  and  practice  those 
virtues  and  qualities  which  were  afterwards  so  greatly 
to  bless  the  whole  world. 

Duties  of  Husbands  and  Wives. — The  beginning 
of  every  Christian  home  is  in  a  supreme  affection  be- 
tween two,  a  man  and  a  woman.  "  For  this  cause," 
Christ  said,  "  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother, 
and  cleave  to  his  wife ;  and  they  twain  shall  be  one  flesh, 
so  that  they  are  no  more  twain  but  one  flesh.  What 
therefore  God  hath  joined  together,  let  not  man  put 
asunder"  (Mark  10:  7-9).     He  honoured  and  sane- 


114       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

tioned  the  marriage  relation  by  His  presence  at  the 
marriage  in  Cana  (John  2  :  i-i  i).  In  the  first  century- 
divorce  was  very  common  ;  Hillel,  the  Jewish  teacher, 
held  "  that  the  bond  was  so  loose  and  flexible  that  if 
a  wife  burnt  her  busband's  food  while  cooking  it,  he 
was  justified  in  procuring  a  writ  of  divorcement  from 
her."  Jesus  denounces  this  practice  and  declares 
(Matthew  5:  31,  32;  Mark  10:  2-12)  that  there  is 
only  one  cause  that  justifies  divorce. 

I,  Love  to  one  another.  In  the  various  vicissi- 
tudes of  married  life,  and  in  the  bringing  up  of  chil- 
dren the  bond  which  needs  to  be  strengthened,  and 
the  duty  which  needs  to  be  urged,  is  that  of  love. 
Love  can  alone  carry  husband  and  wife  over  the 
more  difficult  places  of  life.  Paul  says,  "  Husbands 
love  your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also  loved  the  Church 
and  gave  Himself  for  it "  (Ephesians  5 :  25-33  '> 
Colossians  3:  18,  19).  "Let  every  one  of  you  so 
love  his  wife  even  as  himself ;  and  the  wife  see  that 
she  reverence  her  husband  "  (Ephesians  5  :  33).  No 
stronger  language  can  be  employed  than  Paul  uses 
in  urging  husband  and  wife  to  love  each  other  with  a 
whole  heart,  yet  he  provides  for  cases  where  one  or 
the  otiier  party  in  the  married  relation  is  not  a  Chris- 
tian, and  where  a  strong  love  may  be  absent 
(i  Corinthians  7:  12-17).  He  further  says,  "Unto 
the  married  I  command,  yet  not  I,  but  the  Lord,  let 
not  the  wife  depart  from  her  husband  ;  but  and  if  she 
depart  let  her  remain  unmarried,  or  be  reconciled  to 
her  husband :  and  let  not  the  husband  put  away  his 


The  Christian  Home  115 

wife  "  (I   Corinthians  7  :  10,  11).     But  a  supreme  love 
settles  all  troubles  (i  Corinthians,  chapter  13). 

2.  Forbearance  and  kindness  towards  children. 
•'  Provoke  not  your  children  to  wrath  but  bring  them 
up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord " 
(Ephesians  6:  4;  Colossians  3:  21).  When  Christ 
was  upon  earth,  "  a  father  had  the  power  of  life  and 
death  over  his  offspring.  A  weak  and  sickly  child 
might  be  abandoned  to  death  ;  and  this  was  approved 
by  such  eminent  authorities  as  Plato  and  Aristotle." 
Jesus  declared  for  the  rights  of  the  children.  He  not 
only  opened  His  arms  for  them,  but  He  gave  them  a 
new  standing  in  the  world  (Mark  10:  14-16;  Matthew 
18:  5).  He  said,  "  See  that  ye  despise  not  one  of 
these  little  ones  ;  for  in  heaven  their  angels  do  always 
behold  the  face  of  My  Father,  which  is  in  heaven  " 
(Matthew  18:  10). 

3.  Hospitahty.  True  Christian  love  will  extend 
itself  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  household,  and  seek  to 
do  those  outside  of  it  good  by  drawing  them  within 
its  charmed  circle.  This  hospitality  should  be  given 
not  only  to  those  who  can  return  it  again,  but  also  to 
those  from  whom  no  return  can  ever  be  expected 
(Matthew  5  :  46).  "  Use  hospitality  one  to  another 
without  grudging"  (i  Peter  4:9;  i  Timothy  3:2; 
Titus  1:8;  Hebrews  13:2).  "  But  when  thou  makest 
a  feast,  call  the  poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind : 
and  thou  shalt  be  blessed ;  for  they  cannot  recompense 
thee :  for  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at  the  resurrection 
of  the  just "  (Luke  14: 13, 14, 11, 12;  compare  Matthew 


Il6       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

25  :  35,  42).  In  the  midst  of  our  splendid  charitable 
boards,  which  do  such  a  needed  work,  individual 
charity  and  hospitality  should  not  be  forgotten  and  put 
out  of  its  rightful  place. 

4.  Commending  the  home  to  God.  In  writing  to 
Timothy  (2  Timothy  1:5)  Paul  calls  to  mind  the 
unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  Timothy,  which  dwelt  first 
in  his  grandmother  Lois  and  then  in  his  mother 
Eunice.  Paul  himself  was  brought  up  by  devout 
parents.  The  Bible  has  many  instances  of  men,  like 
that  of  Samuel,  who  have  been  trained  for  great  parts 
in  the  world  in  a  religious  household.  The  old 
proverb  has  it,  "  Like  father,  like  son."  If  God  is 
honoured  by  the  parents  and  the  home  commended  to 
Him,  the  children  will  be  quite  sure  to  honour  Him 
also.  Bring  up  your  children  "  in  the  nurture  and 
admonition  of  the  Lord "  (Ephesians  6 :  4).  Have 
them    ready    to    meet    Christ    at    any   time    (Mark 

13:  34-37)- 

Duties  of  Children. — i.  Honouring  parents.  "Chil- 
dren obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord,  for  this  is  right " 
(Ephesians  6:1,  2,  3;  compare  Exodus  20:  12; 
Colossians  3  :  20).  The  first  necessary  lesson  in  every 
human  life  is  to  learn  the  lesson  of  obedience;  if  this 
is  not  well  studied  and  practiced  in  the  home,  the  child, 
when  he  grows  up  and  goes  out  for  himself,  will  be 
quite  sure  to  have  a  hard  time  of  it  and  receive  some 
severe  buffetings.  Those  who  break  the  laws  of  society 
and  the  state  are  those  who  have  first  broken  the  com- 
mandment to  honour  father  and  mother. 


The  Christian  Home  117 

2.  Care  of  parents.  Children,  when  grown  up,  are 
sometimes  apt  to  forget  the  love  and  care  bestowed 
upon  them  when  they  were  young.  Their  parents 
become  old  and  feeble  and  are  often  unable  to  look 
out  for  themselves.  In  Jesus'  time  there  was  a  bad 
custom  of  repudiating  parents  who  for  any  cause 
needed  to  be  helped.  The  children  had  only  to  say 
"  Corban,"  that  is,  that  their  goods  were  dedicated  to 
a  sacred  purpose,  to  secure  release  from  their  filial 
obligations.  Christ  denounced  this  custom  in  the 
strongest  terms  and  declared  that  the  children  ought 
to  honour  their  parents  by  caring  for  them.  Thus  He 
became  an  advocate  for  the  rights  of  parents  as  He 
had  of  the  rights  of  children  (Mark  7:  11,  7-13; 
Matthew  15  :  3-6).  When  in  His  last  agony,  on  the 
cross,  Jesus  provided  a  home  for  His  mother  (John 
19:  26,  27). 

Duties  of  Dependents  and  Servants. — Jesus  com- 
mended the  honourableness  of  service.  He  washed  the 
disciples'  feet  (John  13:4-16)  and  then  told  them 
that  He  had  given  them  an  example  of  the  kind  of 
service  which  they  should  render  to  each  other. 
He  took  upon  Himself  the  form  of  a  servant,  hiding 
His  glory,  that  He  might  accomplish  His  great  work 
(Philippians  2  :  6-9).  Paul  exhorted  servants  of  the 
household  to  be  obedient,  serving,  "  not  with  eye 
service,  as  men  pleasers ;  but  as  servants  of  Christ, 
doing  the  will  of  God  from  the  heart "  (Ephesians 
6:  5-8;  Colossians  3:  22-25;  i  Corinthians  9:  19). 
Masters   are  told  to  be  just  towards  their  servants, 


Il8       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

remembering  that  they  have  a  Master  in  heaven 
(Colossians  4:1).  When  the  runaway  slave,  Onesi- 
mus,  is  sent  back  to  his  master,  by  Paul,  he  is  com- 
mended to  Philemon  as  a  brother  beloved  (Philemon  16), 
We  should  hear  but  little  of  strikes  and  lockouts  if 
employers  and  employees  would  only  take  these  prin- 
ciples, laid  down  in  the  New  Testament,  for  the  guid- 
ance of  masters  and  servants,  for  their  rules  of  conduct 
towards  each  other  and  seek  to  carry  them  out. 

Duties  of  Young  and  Old. — "  That  the  aged  men  be 
sober,  grave,  temperate,  sound  in  faith,  in  charity,  in 
patience.  The  aged  women  likewise,  that  they  be  in 
behaviour  as  becometh  holiness,  not  false  accusers,  not 
given  to  much  wine,  teachers  of  good  things ;  that  they 
may  teach  the  young  women  to  be  sober,  to  love  their 
husbands,  to  love  their  children,  to  be  discreet,  chaste, 
keepers  at  home,  good,  obedient  to  their  own  hus- 
bands that  the  word  of  God  be  not  blasphemed. 
Young  men  likewise  exhort  to  the  sober  minded " 
(Titus  2  :  2-6). 

THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  HOME 
There  are  many  influences  at  work  which  seek  to 

minimize   the   importance   of  the   home   life  and  to 

undermine  it. 

There  are  four  quite  well  defined  lines  of  the  attack 

upon  the  life  of  the  family. 

The  Assault  Upon  the  Marriage  Relation. — The 

moral  leper  advocates  that  marriage  be  dissolvable  at 

will,  not  by  mutual  consent  alone,  but  when  either 


The  Christian  Home  1 1 9 

party  to  the  contract  desires  its  conclusion.  The 
church,  in  its  different  branches,  stands  as  a  unit 
against  this  iniquitous  proposition.  But  how  far  the 
civil  power  has  yielded,  by  the  pressure  which  has 
been  brought  to  bear,  is  made  manifest  by  the  fact 
that  in  the  different  states  of  the  Union  there  are  now 
recognized  by  the  courts  forty-six  legal  causes  of  an- 
nulling a  marriage.  Our  courts  are  crowded  with  di- 
vorce cases  and  the  suits  which  grow  out  of  them  in 
regard  to  property  and  the  care  of  children.  That  the 
odour  of  scandal,  going  up  from  such  cases  is  bad,  is 
unquestioned.  That  the  influence,  of  such  proceedings 
upon  the  morals  of  the  country,  is  evil  is  also  sadly 
admitted.  A  blow  struck  at  marriage  is  one  which  is 
felt  not  only  by  the  family  but  by  society  and  the 
state.  The  fall  of  the  Roman  empire  was  preceded 
by  an  extraordinary  laxness  of  the  marriage  tie.  It  is 
time  the  church  bestirred  itself  to  oppose  more  strongly 
the  theory  and  practice  of  the  moral  leper. 

The  Assault  Upon  the  Quiet  of  the  Home. — In  the 
modern  stress  and  strain  of  life  there  is  need  of  a  quiet 
place  in  which  to  rest,  to  get  acquainted  with  God,  to 
know  one's  family,  to  live  to  the  best  things  and  to  get 
ready  again  to  engage  enthusiastically  in  the  daily  bat- 
tle of  hfe.  The  home  is  designed  to  furnish  such  a 
place  of  rest,  when  the  work  of  the  day  is  done  ;  it  is 
here,  in  a  Christian  home,  that  there  should  be  an  at- 
mosphere of  supreme  love  and  care.  It  is,  however, 
when  night  comes  that  all  the  attractions,  which  ap- 
peal to  the  love  of  excitement,  put  forth  their  most 


1 20       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

strenuous  efforts  to  draw  to  them  the  inmates  of  the 
home.  There  are  amusements  and  amusements  ;  a  per- 
son, however,  who  looks  only  to  be  amused  seeks  by 
and  by  those  of  the  strongest  flavour  and  those  which 
border  very  closely  on  the  forbidden  land.  The  love 
of  excitement  grows  upon  what  it  feeds  and  soon,  to 
the  habitual  pleasure-seeker,  the  quiet  atmosphere  and 
love  of  the  home  no  longer  appeal ;  he  has  begun  a 
chase  for  excitement  and  pleasure  which  will  never 
satisfy  him.  Multitudes  of  wrecked  homes  and  burned 
out  characters,  show  the  disastrous  work  of  this  assault 
upon  the  quiet  of  the  home. 

The  Assault  Upon  the  Purity  of  the  Body.— We 
are  told  by  Paul  that  our  bodies  are  temples  of  God 
and  members  of  Christ  and  therefore  they  should  be 
kept  pure  and  clean  (i  Corinthians  3  :  i6,  17  ;  6 :  15,  i6). 
Yet  a  certain  class  of  so-called  reformers  are  seeking 
to  teach  men  that  to  sit  in  a  saloon  drinking  the  bev- 
erages there  served  out,  and  which  defile  the  purity  of 
the  body,  makes  for  manhood. 

The  modern  saloon,  which  destroys  the  purity  of 
the  body,  is  one  of  the  most  successful  of  all  agencies 
for  the  demoralization  and  the  destruction  of  the  home. 
Once  it  has  fastened  its  hold  upon  a  man,  the  time 
which  he  should  spend  with  his  family  is  spent  in  de- 
filing his  body  in  this  place  ;  the  money  which  should 
be  spent,  in  clothing  and  feeding  his  wife  and  children, 
is  squandered  here  ;  until  the  home  loses  its  hold  upon 
him  and  he  selfishly  indulges  his  appetite,  no  matter 
who  suffers.     We  are  faced  with  actual  conditions  and 


The  Christian  Home  121 

no  substitutes  of  better  kept  saloons  or  purer  beverages 
can  help  very  much.  It  is  a  travesty  of  the  truth  to 
call  a  saloon  a  working  men's  club  ;  it  is  his  destruction. 
What  is  actually  needed  is  a  reform  which  will  send 
men,  who  frequent  saloons  back  to  their  homes.  The 
real  problem  is  not  how  to  reform  the  saloon,  but  how 
to  make  the  home  better  so  that  father,  mother  and 
the  children  may  take  delight  in  spending  their  evenings 
there.  The  pohcy  of  some  social  organizations,  which 
work  in  the  slums  of  our  great  cities,  seems  to  be  by 
providing  great  public  dance  halls  and  fostering  the 
saloons  to  draw  the  people  still  further  away  from  the 
home  life  and  to  make  it  harder  to  maintain  it. 

After  all  the  only  real  remedy  for  the  saloon  habit 
is  Christianity.  It  is  only  when  Christ  comes  into  the 
heart  of  a  man  that  he  begins  to  care  for  his  home  and 
to  spend  his  evenings  there.  The  Church,  then  as 
possessing  the  lure  for  the  home,  ought  to  take  more 
seriously  to  this  work  in  the  slums.  But  the  trouble 
is  that  the  slums  do  not  receive  very  pleasantly  those 
who  seek  to  cleanse  their  hearts  and  bodies,  but  they 
do  take  kindly  to  the  agencies,  and  often  throng  them, 
which  look  kindly  on  those  things  which  really  keep 
them  down,  and  insure  them  miserable  homes.  Still  it 
remains  true  that  the  teaching  of  Christianity,  even 
when  received  with  hostility,  is  the  only  leavening 
power  for  better  things  in  the  slums.  It  is  one  of  the 
hard  things  to  cleanse  a  man's  body  before  his  heart  is 
made  clean,  but  let  his  heart  be  purified,  and  the 
purity  of  the  body  will  follow ;  then  the  first  thought 


122       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

of  that  man  will  be  for  his  home  and  its  better- 
ment. 

The  Assault  of  Freedom  of  Speech. — In  no  place 
is  there  more  need  of  kindliness  of  speech  and  manner 
than  in  the  home,  yet  in  no  other  place  is  there  more 
plain  speaking.  The  mask  of  pleasantness,  which  may- 
be worn  all  day  in  business  or  social  relations,  may  be 
in  the  home  laid  aside ;  and  the  character  revealed  and 
the  vigour  of  language  used  may  easily  drive  away  every 
vestige  of  happiness.  When  people  live  together 
under  the  same  roof  the  feeHngs  become  very  tender 
and  are  easily  hurt.  What  is  said  outside  may  be 
thought  little  of,  but  in  the  home  it  is  different. 
"  Take  us  the  foxes,  the  little  foxes  that  spoil  the  vines  : 
for  our  vines  have  tender  grapes  "  (Song  of  Solomon 
2:  15). 

Incompatibility  of  temper  is  a  reason  sometimes 
given  for  the  breaking  up  of  a  home,  but  the  real  rea- 
son is  an  undue  familiarity  and  freedom  of  speech. 
Because  persons  live  together  in  famihes  there  should 
be  no  license  to  say  everything  and  anything,  no  mat- 
ter who  is  hurt. 

Home  happiness  is  a  tender  plant,  it  needs  much 
care  and  watching,  but  when  it  blooms  the  flowers  are 
of  a  rare  beauty  of  form  and  their  fragrance  exceeds 
that  of  all  others. 


THE  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  HOME 
How  may  the  home  be  preserved  and  made  to  serve 


The  Christian  Home  123 

its  great  end  ?  There  are  three  ways,  amongst  a 
greater  number,  which  are  here  indicated. 

Personal  Care. — All  betterment  of  the  home  must 
begin  with  the  individual  and  every  individual  has  a 
chance  to  exercise  this  care  as  his  lot  is  cast  in  some 
family.  Thought,  time,  money,  all  need  to  be  em- 
ployed in  working  out  in  a  practical  way  the  ideal  of 
the  true  home. 

Placing  the  Home  Under  the  Care  of  God. — 
There  is  a  need  of  the  reinstatement  of  the  custom  of 
family  worship ;  the  place  and  time  where  and  when 
the  family  is  commended  to  God  and  placed  under 
His  care.  As  children  of  the  great  household  of  God 
we  need  constantly  to  keep  in  touch  with  our  Father. 

The  Obedience  of  the  Golden  Rule,  as  it  is  stated 
in  a  new  form :  I  will  not  do  unto  others  that  which  I 
would  not  have  them  do  to  me.  I  will  not  think  of 
others  that  which  I  would  not  have  them  think  of  me. 
I  will  not  say  of  others  that  which  I  would  not  have 
them  say  of  me. 

QUESTIONS 
What  is  a  home?  What  is  the  difference  in  homes? 
What  is  the  true  home?  What  can  be  said  of  the  ideal 
Christian  home?  Duties  of  husbands  and  wives;  what  are 
the  four  lines?  Duties  of  children;  what  are  the  two 
lines?  What  are  the  duties  of  servants  and  dependents; 
of  the  young  and  aged?  V/hat  can  be  said  of  the  at- 
tack upon  the  home;  the  marriage  relation,  the  quiet  of  the 
home,  the  purity  of  the  body,  freedom  of  speech  ?  In  what 
three  ways  may  the  home  be  preserved  ? 


STUDY  XI 

THE  CHRISTIAN  BUSINESS  WORLD 

Scripture  references :  Proverbs  22  :  2g  ;  Romans  12  :  11 ;  Psalm 
24  ;  I ;  50  .•  10-12  ;  Haggai  2  :  8  ;  Psalm  4g  :  6,  jo,  16,  ly ; 
62  :  10  ;  Matthew  13  :  22  ;  Mark  10  :  2j,  24  ;  Job  jj  :  24-2S  ; 
Proverbs  3  :  g  ;  Matthew  2^  :  14-30  ;  24  :  45-51 ;  0  :  ig-21 ; 
Luke  12  :  ib-2i, 

THE  IDEAL  IN  THE  BUSINESS  WORLD 
There  is  often  a  wide  difference  between  the  meth- 
ods actually  employed  in  doing  business  and  what 
they  should  be.  Good  men  who  are  in  the  thick  of 
the  battle  of  competition  and  rivalry  with  other  firms, 
in  the  same  line  of  trade,  are  the  quickest  to  admit 
this  fact.  They  would  gladly  see  things  managed  so 
that  every  employee  should  be  satisfied  with  his  wages 
and  hours  of  work  and  every  competitor  and  customer 
gratified  by  the  treatment  he  receives. 

Business  as  a  Fight. — "  The  truth  is,"  says  a  recent 
eminent  writer  on  this  subject,  •'  modern  business  is  a 
fight.  At  bottom  it  is  a  question  of  strength  and 
courage."  In  this  fight  there  are  all  sorts  of  men  en- 
gaged ;  men,  who  are  honourable  and  upright  and  who 
fight  fairly,  taking  no  mean  advantage,  yet  neverthe- 
less fighting  strongly  for  place,  power  and  wealth. 
Over  against  this  company  of  men  are  those  who  are 
fair  only  when  they  are  compelled  to  be  fair  and  who 

124 


The  Christian  Business  World  125 

contend  with  any  means,  good  or  bad,  for  the  objects 
which  they  seek  to  attain.  It  is  this  latter  class  which 
upsets  trade,  causes  great  commercial  and  banking 
houses  to  fail,  and  casts  suspicion  upon  all  corpora- 
tions, by  the  sale  of  watered  and  fraudulent  stocks. 
It  is  this  idea  of  business  as  a  struggle  which  causes 
working  men  to  strike  sometimes  rightly,  against  great 
abuses,  and  sometimes  wrongly,  over  minor  matters 
which  might  easily  have  been  adjusted  if  they  had 
been  taken  up  in  the  right  way. 

Business  as  a  Service. — So  long  as  the  ideal  of  the 
business  world  is  that  business  is  a  fight,  little  can  be 
done  to  improve  the  present  conditions  under  which 
capital  and  labour  work  and  suffer.  There  is  nothing 
which  is  so  costly  as  war,  nothing  which  is  so  far- 
reaching  in  its  disastrous  effects  and  which  leaves  such 
a  trail  of  misery  behind  it.  Industrial  war  is  no  ex- 
ception to  the  rule. 

But  why  look  upon  business  as  a  fight  ?  Already  a 
new  ideal  is  before  the  world,  that  of  service.  This  is 
what  business  really  is,  it  carries  things  from  the  place 
where  they  are  abundant  to  where  they  are  not,  it 
seeks  to  feed,  to  clothe,  to  house  all  mankind  and  to 
faciUtate  travel  and  commerce.  Upon  the  earth,  and 
in  it,  enough  of  all  things  has  been  provided  for  all 
the  inhabitants — the  table  spread  by  God  has  been 
bountifully  furnished — if  only  there  were  a  proper 
distribution  no  one  need  want  It  is  this  matter  of 
unwillingness  to  unselfishly  serve  others  which  slows 
down  commerce  to-day.     When,  however,  men  shall 


126       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

cast  aside  all  other  ideals  save  that  of  being  of  the 
largest  service  to  their  fellow  men  we  shall  have  a  new 
order  of  things.  Men  will  no  longer  seek  to  accumu- 
late for  themselves  alone  and  the  labourer  will  work 
with  his  full  strength  and  a  glad  enthusiasm. 

No  man  ever  did  his  best  work  without  some  great 
ideal  before  him  which  refreshed  and  quickened  all  his 
energies.  If  the  business  man  would  save  himself 
from  becoming  sordid,  and  the  poorest  paid  working 
man  from  becoming  sullen  and  hardened,  they  should 
keep  ever  before  them  this  vision  of  service. 

OWNERSHIP 
If  the  ideal  of  service  is  accepted  in  the  business 
world  as  true,  then  the  question  arises,  What  or  whom 
shall  man  serve?  Shall  it  be  a  thing,  silver,  gold, 
house  or  land  ?  Shall  a  man  serve  another  man  as  a 
man  ?  Whatsoever  a  man  serves  he  becomes  subject 
to.  He  is  dominated  by  it  and  his  thoughts  go  no 
further.  Every  man  is  tempted  to  serve  the  lower 
instead  of  the  higher.  Jesus  was  tempted  (Matthew 
4:  i-ii)  by  certain  seeming  great  and  temporal  ad- 
vantages to  relinquish  His  service  of  His  Father,  but 
He  made  it  clear  once  and  for  all  that  the  supreme 
object  of  service  should  be  God  (Matthew  4:  10), 
"  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve."  Paul  also  exhorts  all 
men,  in  all  occupations,  to  keep  in  mind  first  of  all 
the  service  of  God  and  of  Christ,  and  to  do  whatever 
they  do  to  God.  Then  if  they  administer  great  or 
small  affairs,  if  they  are  masters  or  servants,  they  will 


The  Christian  Business  World  127 

seek  to  please  God  and,  having  this  higher  ideal,  will 
do  far  better  work,  than  they  otherwise  would,  in 
every  sphere  of  life  (Ephesians  6:7;  Colossians  3: 
17,  23;   I  Corinthians  10:  31  ;  2  Corinthians  8:  5). 

God,  the  Owner  of  All. — God  as  sovereign,  and 
over  and  in  all,  is  the  proper  object  of  service  (Ex- 
odus 20 :  3,  4,  5)  for  the  business  man.  Nations  have 
parceled  out  the  earth  amongst  themselves  and  claim 
ownership.  Men  hold  the  titles  of  lands  under  the 
laws  of  the  nations.  Men  dig,  plant  and  reap  and 
call  the  products  of  the  soil  their  own.  But  back  of 
the  titles  of  men,  and  the  claim  of  nations,  God  is  the 
great  proprietor. 

"  The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fullness  thereof ; 
the  world  and  they  that  dwell  therein  "  (Psalm  24 :  i  ; 
I  Corinthians  10:  26).  "  For  every  beast  of  the  field 
is  Mine,  and  the  cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills  "  (Psalm 
50:  10-12).  "The  silver  is  Mine  and  the  gold  is 
Mine,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts  "  (Haggai  2  :  8). 

Man  is  a  Tenant  at  the  Will  of  God. — No  man 
really  owns  the  goods  in  which  he  deals  or  the  lands 
to  which  he  holds  the  deeds.  He  may  be  called  away 
from  the  temporary  ownership  at  any  time.  It  was 
asked,  when  a  certain  very  rich  man  died,  "  How  much 
did  he  leave  ?  "  The  reply  was,  "  He  left  it  all,  he  took 
nothing  with  him."  "  For  we  brought  nothing  into 
this  world,  and  it  is  certain  we  can  carry  nothing  out " 
(i  Timothy  6:7;  Psalm  49:  17;  Job  i  :  21).  Christ 
emphasized  the  uncertain  tenure  upon  which  all  prop- 
erty is  held  by  the  parable  of  a  certain  rich  man  who 


128       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

had  much  goods  laid  up,  who  congratulated  himself 
upon  this  fact  and  proposed  to  pull  down  his  barns 
and  build  greater,  saying  to  his  soul,  "  Take  thine  ease, 
eat  drink  and  be  merry,"  but  God  said,  "  Thou  fool, 
this  night  thy  soul  shall  be  required  of  thee :  then 
whose  shall  those  things  be  which  thou  hast  provided  " 
(Luke  12:  16-21)? 

TRUSTEESHIP 

Man  as  a  Trustee. — There  is  no  truth  more  clearly 
brought  out  and  stated  in  many  ways  in  the  Bible 
than  that  man  is  in  the  position  of  a  trustee.  Jesus 
used  the  parable  of  the  talents  to  illustrate  this  great 
truth  (Matthew  25  :  14-30).  It  is  plainly  taught  in 
this  parable  that  man  is  under  obligations  to  God.  No 
man  ever  brought  himself  into  the  world.  No  man 
ever  originated  his  own  talent ;  some  men  have  been 
endowed  with  what  seems  to  be  greater  possibilities 
than  others.  To  one  man  has  been  given  the  talent 
for  administration,  to  another  that  of  a  ministering 
spirit,  to  another  mechanical  genius,  to  another  that 
of  wealth  and  to  another  the  power  of  song  or  speech. 
But  whatever  the  talent  given,  great  or  small,  it  is 
distinctly  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament  that  it  is 
given  in  trust  and  is  to  be  used  in  the  service  of  Him 
who  has  bestowed  it. 

The  business  man  is  expected,  by  his  Lord,  to  buy 
and  sell,  not  for  himself  alone,  but  as  a  trustee.  In 
this  office  it  is  of  great  importance  that  a  man  be 
found  faithful  to  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  ( i  Corin- 


The  Christian  Business  World  129 

thians  4:1,2;  Luke  16 :  2,  1 1 ;  Romans  14 :  12 ;  Luke 
19:  II,  27). 

A  man  in  a  trusteeship,  if  he  is  honest,  will  not 
waste  or  squander  the  property  entrusted  to  his  care. 
He  will  treat  fairly  and  honestly  all  men  who  work  for 
him.  The  men  working  for  him  will  feel  that  they 
are  also  trustees  seeking  to  use  their  skill  and  time,  so 
that  the  best  interests  of  God  and  man  may  be  served. 

Man's  Right  to  Hold  Property  and  Do  Business 
is  recognized  by  Christ.  In  the  parable  of  the  pounds 
(Luke  19:  12-26)  He  commends  those  who  used  the 
money  in  trading  to  gain  more  and  were  ready  when 
"  the  nobleman  "  returned  to  render  a  good  account. 
He  condemns  the  man  who  having  received  one 
pound  made  no  effort  to  increase  it.  He  says,  "  If  ye 
have  not  been  faithful  in  the  unrighteous  mammon,  who 
will  commit  to  your  trust  the  true  riches  "  (Luke  16:  11). 
He  made  no  demand  of  His  disciples,  so  far  as  the 
record  shows,  to  give  up  their  property.  The  case  of 
the  young  man  of  great  wealth  (Mark  10:  17-27),  who 
would  follow  Christ,  and  of  whom  Jesus  required  that 
he  should  divest  himself  of  his  property,  is  fully  in 
accord  with  Jesus'  teaching  concerning  wealth  and  the 
holding  of  property.  The  key  to  the  whole  matter, 
on  this  point,  is  found  in  what  Jesus  says  of  this  very 
case,  "  How  hard  it  is  for  them  that  trust  in  riches  to 
enter  into  the  kingdom  of  God"  (Mark  10:  24).  This 
young  man  did  not  possess  his  wealth  but  his  wealth 
possessed  him,  he  was  the  servant  of  his  money. 
Jesus'  teaching  is  that  a  man  should  hold  money  in 


130       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

trust.  Jesus  warned  men  of  the  risk  of  possessing 
property,  lest  it  become  their  master.  Money,  con- 
sidered simply  as  money,  is  a  hardening  influence  and 
in  the  restive  desire  to  get  more  the  best  things  in 
men  are  quite  sure  to  be  eliminated  (Matthew  1 3 :  22). 
"  The  danger  lies  in  the  power  of  money  to  gather 
affection  and  to  absorb  trust,  thus  displacing  God" 
(Matthew  6:  19,  20,  24;  Luke  18:  24;  12:  15). 

The  Reckoning. — There  comes  a  time  when  every 
trustee  is  called  upon  to  render  an  account  of  how  he 
has  administered  the  business  entrusted  to  his  care 
(Matthew  25  :  19;  Luke  19:  15).  This  time  may  be  long 
delayed,  and  in  the  meantime  many  abuses  may  grow 
up,  and  it  may  appear  that  no  accounting  will  ever  be 
demanded ;  these  conditions  are  plainly  pointed  out  by 
Jesus  in  the  parables  of  the  vineyard  (Luke  20:9-16) 
and  the  tares  (Matthew  13  :  24-30),  but  it  is  also  made 
equally  clear  that  in  the  end  every  man's  work  shall 
be  judged. 

In  this  reckoning  there  can  be  no  making  of  things 
appear  as  they  are  not.  There  can  be  no  juggling 
with  the  accounts.  Every  business  man  must  show 
his  books  (Revelation  20 :  1 2)  and  how  he  has  dealt 
with  that  which  was  entrusted  to  his  care  (i  Corinthians 
3:  1 1-15  ;  Romans  2:16;  Matthew  25  :  31-46), 

It  is  the  looking  forward  to  the  time  of  reckoning 
which  makes  men,  who  are  in  offices  of  earthly  trust, 
pay  careful  attention  to  the  investment  of  funds  and 
painstakingly  investigate  the  security  offered.  Jesus 
would  have  every  man  equally  careful  in  the  investment 


The  Christian  Business  World  131 

of  his  time,  labour,  talent  and  money  for  he  will  surely 
be  called  upon  to  give  an  account  of  his  stewardship. 

In  the  uncertainty  of  the  time  of  reckoning  every 
business  man  is  expected  to  be  ready  for  an  investiga- 
tion at  any  time  when  the  examiner  shall  appear  (Mat- 
thew 24 :  42-5 1  ;  Mark  1 3 :  34-37 ;  i  Thessalonians 
5:6). 

The  Profit  of  business  done,  as  a  service  in  the  sight 
of  God,  is  declared  to  be  sure  and  large.  Whatever 
sacrifices  may  have  to  be  made  will  be  more  than  amply 
repaid  (Matthew  19:  27,  29;  Luke  19:  16-19). 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that,  in  the  business  world  at 
large,  there  is  a  very  great  percentage  of  failures  and 
too  many  mark  not  only  wrecks  of  business,  but  of 
characters.  The  reason  often  given  is  that  the  eye  is 
fixed  too  frequently  and  earnestly  on  immediate  and 
large  profits  for  self.  But  no  man  ever  yet  made  a 
failure  who  openly  and  honestly  sought  in  his  business 
to  be  of  service  to  God  and  his  fellow  men.  Real  fail- 
ure in  business  is  a  failure  in  character.  A  business 
man  may  be  carried  down  by  unexpected  circumstances 
or  the  fall  of  other  firms  but,  if  he  keeps  his  character 
intact,  he  is  no  failure ;  on  the  other  hand  a  man  who 
has  taken  a  selfish  advantage  of  others  may  be  made 
rich  in  goods,  but  he  is  a  rank  failure  in  character. 
The  standard  of  character  in  business  is  after  all  that 
by  which  the  small  or  the  large  dealer  in  any  kind  of 
goods  is  judged,  and  by  business  men  themselves ; 
business  transactions  are  constantly  being  raised  to  a 
higher  level  by  the  enforcement  of  this  standard. 


132       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

PRINCIPLES 

If  employers  and  employees  are  ever  to  be  brought 
into  harmony,  strikes  and  lockouts  abolished,  the  indus- 
trial forces  attain  to  their  highest  efficiency  and  the 
products  of  the  world  distributed  with  the  utmost 
facility,  it  must  all  come  about  not  by  the  invoking  of 
courts  of  law,  but  by  the  bringing  in  of  a  new  senti- 
ment and  the  adoption  of  certain  principles.  A  senti- 
ment is  at  the  base  of  the  present  troubles  and,  until 
it  is  changed,  they  will  be  likely  to  continue  and  the 
world  at  large  will  suffer  the  consequences.  So  long 
as  men  think  only  of  the  inequalities  of  Ufe — and  there 
are  glaring  inequahties — the  unfair  distribution  of 
wealth  and  the  comparatively  obscure  positions  which 
they  hold,  they  will  be  discontented  and  will  fight  to 
better  themselves,  no  matter  who  suffers.  The  spirit 
of  discontent  and  contention  finds  lodgment  in  the 
heart  of  the  humblest  working  man,  up  through  all 
grades,  to  that  of  the  richest  employer,  for  no  man, 
however  wealthy,  ever  thinks  he  has  enough  of  this 
world's  goods ;  those  who  have  the  most  are  often  the 
most  eager  in  grasping  for  more.  Courts  of  law  can 
only  regulate  the  more  flagrant  outbursts  of  the  pre- 
vailing sentiment,  they  do  not  and  cannot  remedy  the 
causes. 

What  are  some  of  the  principles  which  are  destined 
to  help  the  industrial  world  out  of  its  difficulties  ? 

The  Observance  of  the  Golden  Rule. —  "  Therefore 
all  things  whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to 
you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them"  (Matthew  7:  12).     Just 


The  Christian  Business  World  133 

before  giving  this  rule  Jesus  was  speaking  of  a  man 
whose  chief  object  was  to  serve  God  (Matthew  6:  33) 
and  in  the  beginning  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  He 
showed  the  blessedness  of  the  character  which  was  to 
be  sought  (Matthew  5  :  1-16),  before  this  rule  could  be 
rightly  carried  into  practice  in  any  life.  "  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself"  (Matthew  22:  39)  is  in 
the  same  line  of  thought  as  this  rule,  but,  and  here  is 
the  point,  we  do  not  want  certain  men  to  love  us  as 
they  love  themselves,  the  thief,  the  gambler,  the 
drunkard,  and  we  do  not  want  them  to  do  to  us  as 
they  do  to  themselves. 

In  order  then  that  this  rule  be  rightly  observed  there 
must  be  first  an  avowed  allegiance  to  God.  "  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  "  (Matthew  22  :  37)  pre- 
cedes the  command  to  "  Love  thy  neighbour."  It  is 
only  when  men  love  God  aright  and  obey  His  com- 
mandments that  they  can  come  into  proper  relations 
with  their  neighbours. 

Hence,  in  seeking  God  first  and  obeying  the  Golden 
Rule,  the  whole  outlook  of  employer  and  employee 
will  be  changed,  the  attention  will  not  be  fixed  upon 
the  inequahties  of  Hfe  or  the  making  of  a  fortune,  but 
upon  the  desire  to  be  of  service ;  each  man  will  look 
into  his  work  to  improve  it  and  seek  to  help  his 
neighbour ;  whatever  the  compensation,  he  will  seek 
to  do  his  best,  serving  as  in  the  sight  of  God.  "  A 
just  consideration  of  the  rights  of  others  is  the  very 
beginning  and  end  of  true  social  economy."  It  is 
difficult  to  enforce  any  law  which  works  against  a 


134       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

public  sentiment,  but  let  the  latter  be  in  favour  of  the 
former  and  the  law  will  enforce  itself.  Let  the  senti- 
ment in  the  industrial  business  world  be  in  favour  of  a 
supreme  service  and  the  difficulties  and  trials  of  strikes 
and  lockouts  would  disappear ;  the  energy,  time  and 
money  now  spent  in  fighting  could  be  turned  to  the 
benefit  of  employer,  employee  and  consumer. 

Cooperation. — Jesus  never  set  class  over  against  class. 
He  mingled  with  the  wise  and  the  unwise,  the  rich 
and  the  poor.  He  sought  to  draw  men  together  in  a 
common  brotherhood ;  this  brotherhood  was  not  com- 
posed of  employers  or  of  men  who  worked  at  a  certain 
trade  but  of  those  who  sought  to  build  up  the  king- 
dom of  righteousness. 

There  is  cooperation  to-day  amongst  men  but  it  is 
the  coming  together  to  build  up  some  trade  and 
make  it  strong  that  it  may  contend  more  stoutly  for 
its  rights.  There  have  been  various  attempts  for  the 
federation  of  unions,  but  they  have  too  often  been 
for  the  purpose  of  coercing  a  like  federation  of  em- 
ployers' unions  into  taking  a  desired  course  of  action. 
The  world  awaits  a  cooperation  of  all  men  in  the 
business  world  upon  the  basis  of  love  for  each  other 
and  seeking  for  the  best  interests  of  all  concerned. 
This  again  is  a  sentiment  but  it  is  one  which  must 
work  against  the  prevailing  sentiment  of  selfishness 
and  looking  out  for  self  alone,  if  ever  a  better  state  of 
things  is  to  be  brought  about. 

The  Acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Great  Ex- 
ample and   Leader. — No  man  was  ever  so  marvel- 


The  Christian  Business  World  135 

lously  endowed  with  power  as  Jesus,  yet  that  power 
was  used  for  the  good  of  mankind.  He  said  "  All 
power  is  given  to  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth " 
(Matthew  28:  18).  He  made  it  a  proof  of  His  busi- 
ness on  earth  that  the  bhnd  received  their  sight,  the 
lame  walked,  the  lepers  were  cleansed,  the  deaf  heard, 
the  dead  were  raised  (Matthew  1 1 :  2-6). 

The  man  who  follows  Christ  is  the  one  who  makes 
his  business  minister  to  the  wants  of  men  and  helps 
them  to  better  conditions,  whether  he  be  ruler  or 
ruled. 

The  glory  is  that,  to-day,  there  are  many  men  who 
are  trying  conscientiously,  in  the  ranks  of  the  em- 
ployers and  employees,  to  carry  out  the  Golden  Rule, 
cooperate  with  their  fellow  men  and  to  follow  Christ 
in  His  business  of  ministering  to  men. 

QUESTIONS 

What  can  be  said  of  the  ideal  in  the  business  world; 
fight  or  service  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  ownership  of 
property  ?  Who  is  the  owner  of  all  ?  Who  is  a  tenant  at 
the  will  of  God  ?  What  can  be  said  of  man  as  a  trustee  ? 
What  can  be  said  of  a  man's  right  to  hold  property  ?  What 
can  be  said  of  the  reckoning  ?  What  of  the  profit  ?  What 
are  some  of  the  principles  which  can  help  the  business 
world  out  of  its  difficulties ;  the  observance  of  the  Golden 
Rule,  cooperation,  the  acceptance  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the 
Great  Leader  and  Example  ? 


STUDY  XII 

THE  CHRISTIAN  SOCIETY 

Scripture  references :  Matthew  13  :  31-33 ;  5  .•  21-24 !  Mark 
8  :  i-g  ;  John  2  :  i-ii  ;  Luke  £:  2g  ;  14  :  13  ;  i  Peter  2  .•  77  ; 
Galatia7is  6  :  g  ;  Matthew  11 :  28-30  ;  12  :  50  /  Luke  75  .•  3,  6, 
8-10  ;  John  jy  ;  11-13  >'  Luke  3  :  2g,  30  ;  Mark  i  :  28-33  >' 
Matthew  6 :  33  ;  Luke  12  :  13-13. 

THE  SOCIAL  CIRCLE 

The  Word  Society  is  used  to  designate  the  set  of 
people  with  whom  we  are  on  more  intimate  terms  of 
acquaintanceship — whom  we  call  friends — and  those 
whom  we  do  not  know  so  well,  and  whom  we  call 
acquaintances.  The  term  society  may  also  have  other 
definitions,  such  as, 

"I.  A  collective  body  of  persons  composing  a 
community,  or  the  aggregate  of  such  communities. 
2.  A  body  of  persons  associated  for  a  common 
object.  3.  The  more  favoured  class  or  classes,  or 
the  fashionable  portion  of  the  community." 

The  Extent  of  the  social  circle  of  any  man  or 
woman  is  largely  dependent  upon  personal  choice. 
There  are  persons  who  are  exclusive  in  their  prefer- 
ences and  who  seek  only  the  society  of  those  of  the 
same  rank,  wealth  or  profession  as  themselves.  Hence 
the  different  classes  in  society  at  large.  The  pride  of 
the  poor  often  equals  the  pride  of  the  rich  in  this 
matter. 

136 


The  Christian  Society  137 

The  Character  of  a  social  circle  is  also  dependent 
upon  the  convictions  and  opinions  of  those  who  com- 
pose it.  There  is  a  social  conscience  which  is  very  lax 
in  one  group  and  will  allow  almost  any  departure 
from  the  moral  law,  but  in  another  group  it  is  very 
strict  in  its  requirements.  The  social  conscience  is 
constantly  weakened  in  one  case  by  persons  joining 
the  first  group,  who  are  weak  in  moral  principle  ;  and 
as  constantly  strengthened  by  those,  joining  the 
second  group,  who  are  strong  in  the  things  which 
make  for  a  right  hfe. 

The  Example  of  Christ. — When  Christ  came  upon 
earth  He  found  that  the  rich  and  educated  classes  had 
largely  withdrawn  from  all  intercourse  with  those  whom 
they  considered  beneath  them.  He  also  saw  that  the 
tone  of  society  was  arrogant  and  that  of  moral  re- 
straint there  was  none  at  all  or  it  was  exceedingly 
weak.  The  situation  was  such  that  many  men  de- 
spaired of  anything  better  and  were  secluding  them- 
selves from  intercourse  with  their  fellow  men.  John 
the  Baptist  felt  that  he  could  not  stem  the  tide  of  evil 
in  society  and  retired  to  the  desert  to  deliver  his  mes- 
sage. Those  who  contend  for  the  regeneration  of  a 
corrupt  society,  and  who  are  decidedly  in  the  minority, 
always  are  prone  to  step  outside  and  seek  to  do  their 
work  there,  and  sometimes  it  may  be  the  best  to  do  so. 

Jesus  however  entered  into  the  midst  of  society. 
He  went  to  feasts  (Luke  5  :  29,  30;  7:  36;  19:  5).  He 
was  present  at  a  wedding  (John  2  :  i-i  i).  He  said  that 
the  kingdom  of  God  was  like  unto  ten  virgins  who 


138       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

prepared  to  attend  a  wedding  (Matthew  25  :  1-13). 
So  constantly  did  He  enter  into  social  intercourse  with 
men  that  the  Pharisees  and  the  scribes  criticised  Him 
severely  for  it  (Luke  15  :  2)  but  Jesus  justified  His 
course  in  being  "  social  to  save  "  by  the  three  parables  ; 
the  lost  sheep,  the  lost  coin  and  the  lost  boy  (Luke 
15  :  1-24).  He  gave  a  great  feast  at  which  about  five 
thousand  men  were  present  besides  women  and  chil- 
dren (Matthew  14:  15-21).  He  told  what  garments  a 
guest  should  wear  at  a  wedding,  what  seat  he  should 
take  and  who  should  be  invited  (Matthew  22:11-14; 
Luke  14:  7-24).  He  did  not  wait  for  men  to  come  to 
Him,  but  He  went  out  to  meet  them  by  the  seaside, 
and  in  the  city.  He  sent  His  disciples  out  also  that 
He  through  them  might  do  as  wide  a  work  as  possible. 
There  is  no  trace  of  the  recluse  in  Jesus.  He  desired 
to  meet  people  of  all  classes  and  mingle  with  them. 
At  the  last  He  gathered  His  disciples  about  Him,  in 
an  upper  room,  and  instituted  a  memorial  supper  as 
the  chief  ordinance  of  His  church  (Luke  22:  19;  Mat- 
thew 26:  26-30). 

Everything  that  Jesus  did  in  meeting  people  in  a 
social  way  had  a  purpose  and  that  was  to  level  up 
society  and  cause  it  to  conform  to  the  principles  of  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Wherever  He  went  He  led  the 
conversation  to  the  better  things  of  this  kingdom. 
The  man  who  quotes  Jesus  and  His  relation  to  society, 
as  a  justification  of  attendance  upon  numerous  social 
functions,  ought  also  to  carry  out  the  purpose  of  Jesus 
in  bringing  others  to  a  better  life ;   he  ought  also  to 


The  Christian  Society  139 

lead  the  conversation  to  the  same  topics.  If  society 
sways  any  man  from  the  right  purposes  of  hfe,  and  he 
finds  that  he  cannot  breast  its  temptations  he  should 
remain  out  of  it  or  increase  his  spiritual  strength. 

The  Christian  Society,  composed  of  a  body  of  per- 
sons associated  for  the  common  object  of  exploiting 
Jesus  Christ  and  His  principles,  at  first  was  almost 
wholly  social.  The  early  Christians  met  in  each  others' 
houses.  They  partook  of  meals  in  common  after 
which  they  observed  the  Lord's  supper.  The  basis  of 
organization  was  the  fraternal  equality  of  believers. 
The  barriers  between  the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  learned 
and  the  unlearned,  seemed  to  drop  of  themselves.  No 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  to  force  men  to- 
gether in  this  fraternal  organization,  but  they  were 
united  by  a  common  love  for  Jesus  Christ,  their  Lord, 
and  like  Him  they  were  at  home  in  all  social  circles. 

No  law,  no  urgency  of  appeal,  no  pressure,  can  to- 
day abolish  class  distinctions  or  the  conflict  between 
capital  and  labour.  It  is  only  when  men's  hearts  are 
filled  with  love  for  Christ  that  they  cease  to  antagonize 
and  begin  to  care  for  each  other  and  a  true  social  bond 
is  formed. 

SOCIAL  INSTITUTIONS' 

"  There  is  no  problem  of  importance  to  humanity 
which  has  not  some  relation  to  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

There  is  a  social  question  and  it  is  a  live  question. 
It  is  closely  related  to  the  wrongs  and  inequalties  of 
Hfe,  in  wealth,  in  position,  in  privileges  and  in  oppor- 


140       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

tunities.  There  is  a  social  impulse  which  causes  men 
to  get  together  in  smaller  and  larger  groups  and 
through  these  groups  to  found  institutions  which  will 
aid  in  abolishing  the  wrongs  and  in  lessening  the  ine- 
qualities. It  is  in  and  through  social  institutions  that 
the  larger  life  of  the  individual  is  expressed  and  he 
is  able  to  bring  about  certain  results,  working  in  con- 
nection with  other  individuals,  which  he  alone  could 
not  bring  to  pass.  In  the  social  organism  there  is 
specialization  of  work,  one  member  performing  one 
function  and  another  another  and  all  working  in  har- 
mony for  a  common  purpose  (i  Corinthians  12 :  14-27). 

There  are  three  great  social  institutions  through 
which  men  seek  the  larger  life,  the  family,  the  church, 
and  the  state.  They  exist  in  some  form,  elementary 
and  crude  it  may  be,  wherever  man  is  found. 

Christianity  entering  into  all  human  relations,  has 
much  to  say  about  their  construction  and  specific 
powers  and  duties.  Its  mission  is  not  only  to  regener- 
ate the  heart  of  the  individual  but  to  penetrate  and 
transform  society.  "  Its  work  is  to  leaven  the  whole 
mass  of  human  interests  with  a  divinely  purifying 
power.  It  touches  every  act  and  every  relation  of 
humanity  with  a  life  from  above,  and  interpenetrates 
all  that  a  man  can  do  with  a  new  spirit  and  a  heavenly 
light.  It  affects  governments,  moulds  education,  recti- 
fies manners,  sweetens  fellowship,  makes  the  common 
ways  of  men  better,  healthier,  happier,  as  well  as  holier. 
Its  endeavour  is  to  realize  a  divine  society  not  hereafter 
only,  but  upon  earth;  to  have  the  kingdom  of  God 


The  Christian  Society  141 

come  not  in  the  skies  alone  or  in  the  future  merely, 
but  here  and  among  men." 

The  Family. — This  is  the  earliest  and  most  primi- 
tive social  institution.  We  are  all  born  into  some 
family,  however  imperfect  its  form.  Upon  the  family 
depends  in  large  measure  the  good  or  bad  training  of 
the  children ;  here  they  receive  their  earliest  impres- 
sions and  what  they  are  taught  in  the  family  often 
dominates  all  other  instruction.  If  the  bond  between 
husband  and  wife  is  not  regarded  as  binding  and  sacred 
the  institution  of  the  family  becomes  corrupt  and  a 
menace  to  the  good  order  of  society. 

Jesus  spoke  in  no  uncertain  way  about  the  sacred- 
ness  of  the  marriage  relation  (Matthew  19 :  3-9 ;  5  :  32) 
and  the  obedience  which  children  owed  to  their  par- 
ents (Matthew  15  :  4-6). 

The  Church — Man  has  been  called  "  a  religious 
animal."  His  desire  to  worship  is  instinctive.  He 
seeks  the  care  and  protection  of  a  stronger  power 
than  himself.  Even  a  man  who  says  he  has  no  relig- 
ious opinions  will  often  be  found,  when  questioned,  to 
hold  most  strongly  to  things  which  he  believes.  Indi- 
viduals, then  holding  to  certain  religious  beliefs,  nat- 
urally come  together  and  form  groups  in  which  they 
worship  in  common.  This  is  the  social  impulse  ap- 
plied to  worship,  because  man  likes  to  do  things  in 
connection  with  his  fellow  men. 

Christ  sought  to  direct  men  to  the  proper  object 
of  worship  (John  4:  23,  24;  14:  6-11),  the  way  to 
pray  (Matthew  6 :  5-15),  the  way  to  enter  into  life  with 


142       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

God  (John  3:  1-21)  and  the  character  which  was  re- 
quired of  those  who  desired  to  lead  the  divine  life 
(Matthew  5  :  1-16;  chapters  5-7).  Men  who  beheve 
in  the  principles  of  Jesus  Christ  associate  themselves 
together  in  a  Christian  church. 

The  Government. — Everywhere  we  find  men  unit- 
ing for  mutual  protection  against  their  enemies,  the 
guarding  of  property,  the  settling  of  disputes  between 
individuals,  the  administration  of  justice  and  the  exer- 
cise of  other  powers.  This  government  may  take 
different  forms  from  the  one  man  power  in  a  mon- 
archy to  that  of  the  most  liberal  democracy.  The 
necessity  for  some  form  of  government  seems  plain. 

Christ  recognized  the  duties  which  a  man  owed  to 
the  state  when  He  said,  in  answer  to  the  lawyer's  ques- 
tion, "  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  unto  Csesar,  or  not?" 
"  Render  therefore  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are 
Caesar's ;  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's." 
He  saw  the  corruption  in  the  government  of  His 
times  as  plainly  as  any  one,  more  plainly  in  fact,  but 
He  was  showing  the  necessity  of  the  functions  of 
government.  He  submitted  to  the  decree  of  the  state 
condemning  Him  to  death  although  He  knew  it  to 
be  unjust,  and  that  the  power  was  not  with  Pilate 
(John  19:  10,  II  ;  Matthew  26:  52,  53). 

What  Jesus  sought  to  do  was  to  usher  in  a  new 
kingdom  of  righteousness.  He  taught  His  disciples 
to  pray  for  the  coming  of  this  kingdom  upon  earth. 
"  Thy  kingdom  come.  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven."     He  was  continually  speaking  of  this 


The  Christian  Society  143 

kingdom  (Matthew  13:  24-52).  He  declared  that  all 
nations  should  come  to  Him  finally  to  be  judged 
(Matthew  25:31,32).  One  great  theme  of  the  prophets 
of  the  Old  Testament  was  the  righteousness,  purity 
and  justice  of  the  new  government  which  God  desires 
to  set  up  amongst  men. 

Social  damage  comes  to  men  and  great  evil  is  done 
to  individuals  when  social  institutions  are  not  patterned 
after  the  plans  given  by  Christ ;  these  are  divine  insti- 
tutions when  they  seek  to  approach  to  the  divine  ideal. 
Much  of  the  unquiet  and  restlessness  of  the  masses  of 
men  to-day  and  the  great  wrongs  in  the  world  are  due 
to  the  tampering  with  the  marriage  relation,  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  worship  of  wealth  and  worldly  power 
for  God,  and  the  seeking  of  government  positions,  not 
to  be  of  service  to  men  under  God  but  to  rule  over 
men. 

Social  health  and  vigour  will  come  in  the  family, 
church  and  government  when  men  turn  again  to  God 
and  obey  and  serve  Him  through  the  social  institutions 
with  supreme  love  and  enthusiasm  for  His  service. 

SOCIAL  AIMS 
In  Socialism. — There  are  many  schemes  presented 
to-day  under  the  broad  term  of  Socialism  which  have 
for  their  proposed  end  the  betterment  of  the  people, 
the  abolishment  of  all  wrongs  and  the  bringing  in  of 
a  new  order  of  things ;  where  every  man  shall  do  a 
minimum  amount  of  work  and  receive  a  large  return 
for  what  he  does.     These  plans  vary  from  the  mildest 


144       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

of  reforms — and  from  "  the  public  collective  owner- 
ship of  land  and  capital  and  the  public  collective 
management  of  all  industries  "  with  the  recognition  of 
certain  private  rights — to  the  taking  of  all  land  and 
capital  absolutely  from  private  control,  the  abolishing 
of  the  right  to  hold  private  property,  the  giving  up  of 
the  marriage  relation,  the  suppression  of  the  church 
and  the  renunciation  of  the  government. 

The  trouble  with  extreme  schemes  of  this  sort  is  that 
they  seek  in  the  end  to  abolish  the  individual  and 
private  rights,  even  in  marriage.  But  all  social  and 
moral  health  and  wealth  is  but  the  aggregate  of  indi- 
vidual health  and  wealth.  No  community  and  no 
class  of  men  are  better  than  the  men  who  compose 
them.  If  there  are  evils  in  the  present  system  they 
would  continue,  in  a  magnified  form,  in  the  new.  There 
is  here  the  old  political  fallacy,  made  over  into  a  new 
social  fallacy,  that  by  mere  putting  of  the  ballot  into 
every  man's  hands  the  government  would  be  purified 
of  all  its  evils.  We  must  begin  with  the  individual 
to  purify  him  before  the  state  or  society  can  be  made 
much  better.  It  is  the  levelling  down,  the  bringing 
the  better  working  man  to  the  rate  of  work  and  quality 
of  the  poorer,  which  is  sought,  rather  than  the  level- 
ling up.  The  common  goods  scheme  was  tried  early 
in  the  career  of  the  Christian  Church  and  it  failed  to 
work  because  of  the  element  of  selfishness  which  came 
in  (Acts  2 :  44,  45  ;  4 :  34;  compare  5  :  i-i  i) ;  this  has 
been  the  cause  of  the  breaking  up  of  numerous  social 
and  communistic  settlements  and  communities. 


The  Christian  Society  14^ 

In  Christianity. — When  the  precepts  of  Christianity- 
have  been  accepted  and  lived  up  to  by  any  man  or 
company  of  men,  they  have  never  failed  to  stand  all 
the  social  tests  which  have  been  applied  to  them. 
They  seek  the  regeneration  of  the  individual  and  the 
purification  and  usefulness,  for  him,  of  all  the  social 
institutions.  They  endeavour  to  abolish  evil  desires 
and  practices  in  the  individual  and  all  social,  industrial 
and  political  wrongs.  They  give  full  play  to  all  man's 
powers  in  private  and  in  public  matters.  They  have 
never  been  proved  inadequate  to  their  task,  but  they 
have  found  much  refractory  material  with  which  to 
deal. 

They  level  up  not  down  and  seek  for  every  man  a 
new  moral  and  physical  life  ;  they  present  before  him 
the  very  highest  ideals  of  life  and  service. 

It  is  a  fact  that  it  is  only  where  their  light  shines  that 
the  working  man  has  anything  like  decent  wages  or 
hours  of  labour.  In  China,  India  and  Africa  we  find 
the  labourer  gets  little  or  nothing  for  his  toil. 

It  is  only  in  Christian  countries  that  we  have  any- 
thing approaching  true  social  equality,  in  others  no 
man  may  rise  out  of  his  caste  or  class.  Take  the 
United  States  and  we  find  that  a  number  of  our  presi- 
dents have  come  from  the  poorest  families  and  most  of 
our  influential  and  wealthy  men  have  risen  from  the 
ranks  of  the  common  people. 

It  is  the  lack  of  Christian  principles  in  individual, 
industrial  and  public  life  which  is  at  the  bottom  of  the 
present  day  social  unrest. 


146       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

In  Christ,  the  Social  Reformer. — When  He  came 
upon  the  earth  and  before  His  time  all  labour  was  per- 
formed by  slaves  without  pay  and  with  but  a  dole  of 
food.  The  mighty  buildings  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  Baby- 
lonia, Greece  and  Rome  were  all  built  by  the  unre- 
quited toil  of  slaves.  Such  would  have  continued  to 
be  the  state  of  things  had  not  Christ  said,  "  The 
labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire  "  (Luke  10:7;  Matthew 
10 :  10).  That  a  working  man  should  receive  wages  or 
any  pay  for  his  labour  was  revolutionary  in  that  time 
for  "  Plato,  Cicero,  Lycurgus  held  that  it  was  a  disgrace 
to  touch  the  implements  of  toil."  Christ  dignified 
labour  by  toiling  at  the  bench  as  a  carpenter.  If  ever 
labour  is  to  gain  any  real  advantage  it  must  be  through 
taking  Christ  as  a  leader  (Matthew  1 1  :  28). 

He  taught  that  the  true  bond  of  social  equality  was 
a  moral  and  spiritual  one  (Luke  8:21;  Matthew  23:  8; 
Philippians  3:  13-15;  4:  8). 

In  the  Social  Settlement. — What  is  a  true  social 
settlement?  This  question  is  not  so  easily  answered. 
There  are  all  kinds  and  sorts  of  social  settlements. 
Some  minister  to  the  health  of  the  community  in 
which  they  are  situated  and  some  do  not.  The  saloon 
has  recently  put  forth  its  claim  to  the  doing  of  social 
service,  but  no  one  ever  slandered  a  saloon  keeper  by 
affirming  that  he  had  anything  in  view  save  a  selfish 
motive.  Whatever  little  social  service  he  may  render 
is  more  than  counterbalanced  by  the  social  havoc 
wrought  by  his  trade.  Again  there  are  social  settle- 
ments where  the  principal  thought  and  effort  seems  to 


1  The  Christian  Society  147 

be  to  provide  somewhat  questionable  vaudeville  enter- 
tainments and  frequent  public  dances  ;  the  leaders  say 
they  are  compelled  to  adopt  these  features  to  hold  the 
people ;  here  comes  in  again  the  question  of  social 
damage  to  the  community  in  which  they  are  situated. 

The  true  social  settlement,  with  all  its  features  of 
mental  and  physical  culture,  is  one  which  places 
Christ  at  the  front  of  all  its  work  and  keeps  Him  there. 
It  is  Christ  and  Christ  alone  who  can  really  help  the 
individual  and  the  community  and  there  are  numbers 
of  social  settlements  where  Christ  is  kept  at  the  head 
of  the  work. 

The  church  has  changed  its  methods  very  much 
during  the  past  few  years.  Seldom  is  a  church  now 
built  which  does  not  have  its  well  appointed  kitchen, 
dining-room  and  parlours  and  other  social  equipments. 
It  is  according  as  a  church  uses  these  adjuncts,  whether 
they  really  help  it,  or  not,  to  do  its  work.  The  church 
is  powerful  as  a  force  for  social  betterment  not  as  it 
does  or  does  not  open  its  doors  to  lecturers,  plan  social 
entertainments,  give  dinners  and  hold  festivals — these 
may  be  helps — but  in  so  far  as  it  sways  the  inner  life 
of  the  community.  This  inner  life,  influenced  in  right 
ways,  finds  expression  in  a  better  individual,  home 
and  community  standard.  This  standard  makes  for 
the  uplifting  of  the  social  state  outside  as  well  as  inside 
the  church.  The  principle  is,  not  social  for  the  sake 
of  being  social,  but  "  social  to  save."  It  is  quite  cer- 
tain that  unless  the  church  sets  up  its  ideals  in  the 
community,  a  worldly  community  will  set  up  its  ideals 


148       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

in  the  church.  The  more  spiritual  a  church  as  a  social 
settlement  is  the  stronger  the  social  bond  becomes 
between  rich  and  poor,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned. 

BROTHERHOOD 

The  Christian  Social  Brotherhood  is  not  a  brother- 
hood of  a  class  but  of  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men. 
To-day  the  popular  idea  of  brotherhood  is  the  associa- 
tion of  men  of  a  certain  trade.  There  is  a  strong 
tendency  for  social  groups  to  be  formed,  which  are 
exclusive  of  all  who  do  not  conform  to  a  certain 
standard  in  the  industrial  world  and  inclusive  of  all 
who  do.  The  members  are  looking  for  protection  and 
mutual  benefit. 

Christ  said  of  His  brotherhood,  "  One  is  your  Mas- 
ter, even  Christ  and  all  ye  are  brethren.  .  .  .  One 
is  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  "  (Matthew  23:8,  9). 
We  find  here  the  great  principle  laid  down  that  there 
can  be  no  true  brotherhood  without  a  common  father- 
hood. Christians  are  brothers  because  they  have  a 
common  "  Master  "  and  "  Father  "  hence  they  seek  to  do 
good  not  only  to  the  members  of  the  brotherhood  but 
to  all  men,  because  God  is  the  Father  of  all.  It  is  this 
thought  that  is  to  bring  men  up  out  of  their  selfish- 
ness. The  employer  and  employee  will  strive  to  do 
all  they  can  for  each  other  when  deep  down  in  their 
hearts  they  beheve  they  are  brethren  in  Christ;  we 
shall  hear  no  more  then  of  injustice  upon  either  side. 

The  church  of  Jesus  Christ  holds  the  only  solution  to 
the  peaceful  and  happy  settlement  of  the  social  unrest. 


The  Christian  Society  149 

QUESTIONS 
What  can  be  said  of  the  social  circle,  what  does  the 
word  society  signify?  What  is  the  extent  of  any  social 
circle,  the  character  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  example  of 
Christ  in  society,  the  Christian  society  ?  What  can  be  said 
of  social  institutions ;  the  family,  the  church,  the  govern- 
ment ?  What  can  be  said  of  social  aims  ;  Socialism,  Chris- 
tianity, Christ,  the  social  reformer,  the  church  as  a  social 
settlement  ?  What  can  be  said  of  the  Christian  social  broth- 
erhood ? 


STUDY  XIII 

THE  CHRISTIAN  STATE 

Scripture  references  :  Matthew  22  :  iy-22  ;  ly  :  24-27  ;  Acts  23  :  5 ; 
John  6 :  ij ;  Mattheiv  4:8-10;  John  18:  36-38;  Mark 
14  ;  61,  62  ;  John  18  :  33  ;  ig  :  ig  ;  Isaiah  g  :  6,  7  /  60  : 3  ; 
Zechariah  g  :  10  ;  Daniet  7  .•  14  ;  Matthew  26  :  64  ;  26 :  J3,  ^4  ; 
16:  16, 17;  23: 31,32. 

CHRIST  AND  THE  STATE 
The  Relation  of  Christ  to  the  State. — He  was  an 
intense  patriot.  He  loved  His  country.  The  names 
of  His  great  countrymen,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob, 
Joshua  and  David,  were  ever  on  His  lips.  He  offered 
Himself  as  the  national  Messiah  (Matthew  21  :  1-17), 
He  was  rejected  (John  18:  38-19:  16;  Luke  23: 
27-30;  13:  34)  and  crucified  (John  19:  18),  after  He 
had  been  unjustly  condemned  to  death  both  by  the 
Jewish  and  Roman  authorities.  Upon  the  cross  and 
over  His  head  was  placed  the  inscription,  "  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  the  King  of  the  Jews." 

What  Jesus  Taught  About  the  State. — The  ancient 
idea  of  the  state  was  that  it  was  everything  and  the 
individual  nothing.  The  first  question  was,  "  Is  the 
state  strong  and  prosperous  ?  "  The  happiness  or  un- 
happiness  of  the  individual  was  not  considered.  The 
purity  or  impurity  of  the  life  of  the  individual  was 
of  little  consequence.     The  citizens  existed  for  the 

150 


The  Christian  State  15 1 

state  and  to  serve  it  and  its   ruler.     This  idea  has 
lingered  long  and  is  not  entirely  yet  extinct. 

1.  Jesus  discovered  the  individual  in  the  state.  He 
taught  that  the  soul  of  one  man  is  worth  more  than 
the  whole  world  (Matthew  16:  26).  Jesus  put  the 
individual  first  and  the  state  second.  This  teaching 
was  entirely  new  and  revolutionary.  Christ's  principle 
was  make  the  man,  the  unit,  right  and  the  state  will 
be  right.  He  insisted  that  the  test  of  the  state  is  the 
kind  of  individuals  it  produces  (Matthew  7  :  16).  "  By 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them "  (Matthew  7  :  20). 
Formerly  the  state  was  thought  of  as  an  institution 
to  minister  to  the  comfort  or  happiness  of  the  ruler 
or  ruling  class.  Christ  reversed  this  when  He  de- 
clared that  rulers  existed  to  serve  the  state.  He  said, 
"  Ye  know  that  the  princes  of  the  Gentiles  exercise 
dominion  over  them,  and  they  that  are  great  exercise 
authority  upon  them.  But  it  shall  not  be  so  among 
you,  but  whosoever  will  be  great  among  you  let  him 
be  your  minister  ;  and  whosoever  will  be  chief  among 
you  let  him  be  your  servant.  Even  as  the  Son  of 
Man  came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister 
and  to  give  His  life  a  ransom  for  many "  (Matthew 
20:  25-28).  He  is  the  greatest  in  the  state  who 
renders  the  greatest  service. 

2.  "  He  laid  the  foundation  of  a  true  state."  In 
the  time  of  Christ  the  common  people  had  no  choice 
in  the  selection  or  election  of  any  officer  of  the  state, 
of  high  or  low  position.  Popular  government  in  any 
form  was  unknown.     If  things  went  wrong  people 


152       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

must  endure  them.  When  Jesus  laid  the  responsibil- 
ity upon  the  individual  He  made  a  basis  for  a  popular 
government  of  some  form.  If  things  are  not  right 
now  in  a  Christian  state  the  people  have  the  power  of 
protest  and  change.  It  is  for  the  people  to  send  their 
representatives  to  the  legislature,  to  congress,  to 
parliament,  etc.,  and  to  make  and  alter  the  laws  when 
new  laws  or  changes  are  needed. 

3.  He  was  a  civil  reformer  from  the  inside.  Jesus 
taught  the  necessity  for  the  moral  and  spiritual  re- 
generation of  men  before  much  could  be  done  by  the 
state  in  weeding  out  its  evils.  He  saw  plainly  the 
folly  of  trying  to  transform  the  character  of  the  state 
solely  by  the  coercive  power  of  law.  "  Satan  tempted 
Him  to  take  the  short  cut, — seize  power  over  men 
and  then  change  the  character  in  men  (Matthew  4 :  8). 
To  have  become  the  kind  of  a  king  the  Galileans 
proposed  in  John  6:  15  would  have  frustrated  His 
mission.  He  sought  in  society  and  politics  what  He 
sought  in  each  man's  life  (Matthew  12:  36;  23:  26; 
Luke  6:  45;  John  10:  10).  Jesus  was  a  true  re- 
former." 

4.  Jesus  taught  obedience  to  the  state  and  Him- 
self strictly  observed  what  He  taught.  He  paid  His 
taxes  (Matthew  17:  24-27).  He  declared  that  it  was 
lawful  to  give  tribute  to  Csesar  (Matthew  22:  15-21). 
When  He  was  unlawfully  arrested,  on  a  trumped  up 
charge.  He  made  no  resistance  (John  18  :  1-9);  this 
was  not  because  He  was  not  able  to  do  so,  for  He 
could  have  summoned  more  than  twelve  legions  of 


The  Christian  State  153 

angels  to  aid  Him  (Matthew  26 :  5  3),  Jesus  thoroughly 
understood  the  corruption  of  His  times,  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  rulers.  He  said  of  Herod,  when  it  was 
told  Him  that  he  would  kill  Him,  "  Go  ye  and  tell 
that  fox,  Behold,  I  cast  out  devils  and  do  cures  to-day 
and  to-morrow,  and  the  third  day  I  shall  be  perfected  " 
(Luke  13:  32,  33).  He  obeyed  the  law  for  a  purpose 
and  the  bringing  in  of  a  new  order  of  things — the 
abolition  of  force  and  the  substitution  for  it  of  service 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  suffered  the  Just  for 
the  unjust.  He  was  a  Martyr  for  His  country.  He 
died  that  it  might  live  in  a  new  order  of  men,  under 
the  banner  of  Christianity. 

5.  He  taught  the  right  principles  upon  which  the 
universal  state  should  be  founded.  Up  to  and  at  the 
time  of  Christ  nations  were  separated  from  each  other 
not  only  by  natural  boundaries  of  rivers,  seas,  plains, 
mountains,  languages  and  racial  differences  but  by  re- 
Hgions.  One  people  worshipped  one  set  of  gods, 
while  another  people  bowed  down  to  other  gods. 
Jesus  set  forth  the  large  ideal  of  uniting  all  races  and 
all  peoples  in  one  great  spiritual  kingdom  (John 
18  :  37  ;  Matthew  28  :  19,  20;  Acts  1:8;  17  :  24-27). 
It  is  only  as  different  peoples  and  nations  are  united 
in  a  common  religion  that  there  can  be  a  proper 
political  federation  or  union  (John  4:  20-24;  10:  16). 
Jesus  taught  His  disciples  to  pray  that  God's  kingdom, 
a  reign  of  righteousness,  justice  and  peace,  might 
come,  not  to  one  people  only,  but  to  all  peoples. 
This  prayer, "  Thy  kingdom  come.     Thy  will  be  done 


1^4       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

in  earth  as  it  is  done  in  heaven "  (Matthew  6 :  lo) 
means  that  the  earth  and  no  one  restricted  part  of  it 
is  to  be  occupied  by  the  kingdom  of  God.  Jesus 
looked  beyond  the  Jewish  state  and  the  Roman  state 
and  saw  the  beginning  of  a  kingdom  of  God  which 
would  embrace  all  nations.  It  is  this  kingdom  which 
is  to  permeate,  purify  and  control  the  governments  of 
the  earth. 

THE  AUTHORITY 

The  Source  of  Authority  is  in  God.  "  There  is  no 
power  but  of  God  ;  the  powers  that  be  are  ordained 
of  God"  (Romans  13:  i;  Daniel  2 :  20,  21  ;  4:  32; 
Psalm  2).  God  is  sovereign.  He  is  the  final  basis  of 
all  authority.  "  Government  has  authority  delegated 
to  do  its  duties,  but  it  has  no  inherent  authority  to  do 
anything.  God  has  inherent  powers ;  institutions 
have  that  which  is  conferred  upon  them  bylaw.  Each 
one  who  exercises  authority  must  derive  it  directly  or 
indirectly  from  God"  (Matthew  18:  18;  Daniel  7: 
13,  14;  Isaiah  9:  6,  7;  Luke  10:  22;  John  3:  35). 
This  is  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  Chris- 
tian state.  This  authority  may  be  delegated  to  men 
and  may  be  used  rightly  or  it  may  be  abused. 

In  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  it  is  distinctly 
taught  that  all  nations — Christian  and  unchristian — 
are  directly  accountable  to  God. 

The  Sanction  of  Authority  is  in  the  righteousness 
and  justice  of  God.  "  Shall  not  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earth  do  right "  (Genesis  18 :  25  ;  Psalm  58 :  1 1 ;  67  : 7 ; 


The  Christian  State  155 

97 :  6 ;  9:8;  50 :  6 ;  Proverbs  16  :  11,12;  Romans  3 : 
21,  22)?  The  Old  Testament  prophets  looked  for- 
ward to  the  perfect  state  wherein  righteousness  and 
justice  should  rule.  Sovereignty  over  a  state  may  be 
initiated  by  force  but  it  can  never  be  made  the  per- 
manent basis  on  which  sovereignty  rests.  "  States 
have  been  defrauded  of  their  birthright  with  scarcely 
the  grace  of  a  contract  for  a  mess  of  pottage,  but  the 
possession  may  be  kept  only  by  a  return  to  justice. 
The  strongest  is  not  strong  enough  to  be  always 
master,  unless  he  transform  his  strength  into  right 
and  obedience  to  duty." 

THE  LAW 

Reign  of  Law. — The  philosopher,  the  natural  scien- 
tist and  the  Christian  theologian  all  believe  that  we 
live  in  a  universe  governed  by  law.  Certain  natural 
scientists  may  believe  that  the  law  is  impersonal  in  its 
origin,  but  the  Christian  theologian  believes  that  the 
origin  of  law,  and  the  carrying  it  out,  is  "  the  expres- 
sion of  the  will  of  a  personal  God," 

Law  has  been  defined,  as  the  necessary  relations 
which  pertain  to  the  nature  of  things.  When  men 
come  to  associate  themselves  in  a  state  they  find  it 
necessary  to  define  and  formally  set  forth  their  rela- 
tions by  certain  enactments  for  the  general  good, 
which  are  called  laws.  But  these  laws  naturally  will 
be  the  expression  of,  and  will  rise  no  higher  than,  the 
social  conscience  of  the  people. 

The  revealed  will  of  God  in  regard  to  men  and 


156       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

their  political  relations  to  each  other,  as  given  in  the 
Scriptures,  presents  high  ideals,  which,  if  reahzed,  go 
to  make  the  perfect  state  (Micah  6 :  8).  The  Old 
Testament  prophets  were  continually  presenting  these 
divine  ideals  of  the  state  to  the  people  of  Israel  and 
urging  them  to  accept  them.  Christ  had  much  to  say- 
about  the  higher  political  relations  of  men.  Paul  in 
his  epistles  also  had  much  to  say  upon  this  topic. 
Moses  urged  not  only  the  keeping  of  the  provisions  of 
the  ceremonial,  but  also  the  moral  and  civil  laws 
(Deuteronomy  6:  1-9;  Exodus  25  :  40;  Joshua  1:7; 
Exodus  13:9;  Nehemiah  9:13;  Psalm  1:2;  Isaiah 
i:  10-17;  Jeremiah  8:  7,  8;  Daniel  9:  10,  11; 
Matthew  5:  17;  22:  36-40;  Hebrews  8:  10;  Titus 
3:  1,2;  Ezra  7:  25). 

God  is  the  Lord  of  all  nations  and  they  are  to  be 
judged  according  to  His  law  (Psalm  2 ;  47 :  2,  3 ; 
Malachi  i:  14;  Psalm  67:  4;  Matthew  28:  19; 
25  :  32;  Romans  16:  26). 

The  End  of  the  Law  is  to  make  a  holy  nation, 
wherein  righteousness  shall  reign.  The  effort  of  the 
Mosaic  law  was  to  make  Israel  a  "  holy  nation."  Even 
sanitary  and  dietary  laws  were  not  laid  down  as  such 
but  were  made  the  distinctive  marks  of  the  consecrated 
life  of  a  chosen  people;  details  of  ritual  were  pre- 
scribed to  express  the  sense  of  the  holiness  of  God  in 
whose  service  they  were  exercised  (Exodus  19:  6). 
"  And  ye  shall  be  holy  unto  Me ;  for  I  the  Lord  am 
holy,  and  have  severed  you  from  other  people,  that  ye 
should  be  Mine "  (Leviticus  20 :   26 ;   Deuteronomy 


The  Christian  State  157 

7:6;  26:   19;  28:  9;   Isaiah  62:  12;    i  Corinthians 

The  effort  of  Christianity,  under  the  leadership  of 
Christ,  is  not  only  to  perfect  the  church,  but  also  the 
state.  In  so  far  as  the  principles  of  Christianity  pre- 
vail amongst  the  people  they  reflect  themselves  in 
the  laws  of  the  state.  In  a  community  which  is 
thoroughly  Christian  it  is  impossible  for  certain  evil 
institutions  to  maintain  themselves. 

The  Duty  of  the  Christian  Citizen  is  to  recognize 
the  state,  to  give  it  loyal  support  and  obedience  and  to 
seek  to  make  its  law  conform  to  the  law  ordained  by 
God.  No  man  ought  to  hold  himself  aloof  from  the 
political  interests  of  his  community  or  country.  In 
many  towns  and  cities  where  Christian  public  sentiment 
has  secured  the  passage  of  excellent  laws  for  the  sup- 
pression of  certain  evils,  the  evils  flourish  in  spite  of  the 
good  laws  because  they  are  not  strongly  supported  by 
that  sentiment  which  secured  their  passage. 

Never  was  there  a  time  when  the  highest  type  of 
Christian  citizenship,  setting  forth  the  ideals  of  Christ, 
was  more  needed  than  at  the  present  day.  The  out- 
look for  any  true  national  greatness  must  necessarily 
be  from  an  ethical  and  Christian  standpoint,  bringing 
to  the  front  the  principles  of  love,  loyalty,  service  and 
sacrifice. 

FUNCTIONS  AND  PURPOSE 
Functions. — The  Christian  state  is  continually  widen- 
ing its  sphere  of  care  and  action  over  and  for  the 


158       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

individual.  It  not  only  assumes  the  protection  of  life 
and  property,  but  provides  schools,  from  the  primary 
grade  to  great  universities ;  it  cares  for  the  sick  and 
mentally  deficient;  it  provides  food,  clothing  and 
shelter  for  the  destitute  poor,  it  supervises  the  morals 
of  the  people,  and  enforces  sanitary  regulations.  The 
more  thoroughly  Christian  the  state  the  more  it  seeks 
the  betterment  of  the  individual.  The  less  Christian 
the  state  the  less  it  cares  for  the  good  of  the  individual 
and  the  more  it  seeks  to  oppress  and  to  use  him  as  its 
slave. 

Purpose — This  is  the  realization  of  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth.  The  Christian  is  working  for  a  state, 
where  the  principles  of  justice  and  brotherly  love  shall 
prevail. 

QUESTIONS 

Christ  and  the  state ;  what  was  His  relation  to  the  state  ? 
What  did  He  teach  about  the  state?  What  did  Jesus  teach 
about  the  individual  and  his  relation  to  the  state  ?  In  what 
way  did  He  lay  the  foundation  of  the  true  state  ?  In  what 
respect  was  He  a  civil  reformer?  What  did  Jesus  teach 
about  obedience  to  the  state  ?  What  did  He  teach  about 
the  universal  state  and  the  principles  upon  which  it  should 
be  founded  ?  What  is  the  source  of  authority  for  the  state  ? 
Give  the  sanction  of  its  authority.  What  can  be  said  of  the 
law  of  the  state,  the  reign  of  law,  definition,  end  of  the  law 
and  the  duty  of  the  Christian  citizen  ?  Give  the  functions 
and  purpose  of  the  Christian  state. 


STUDY  XIV 

THE  CHRISTIAN'S  HOPE 

Scripture  references  :  i  Timothy  i :  i ;  Colossians  i :  27  ,•  Psalm 
^30  ■  5  ;  43  •  5  >'  Proverbs  10  :  28  ;  Acts  24  :  /j  /  Psalm  7/  /  5  ; 
Romans  ^ :  /-J"/  12:  12;  75  .•  4;  i  Corinthians  g :  10; 
Galatians  3  :  S  ;  Ephesians  i  :  18  ;  Philippians  i :  20;  Colossians 
I :  S  ;  I  Thessalonians  1:3;  2  :  ig  ;  Titus  1:2;  2  :  jj  ,-3:7  ; 
Psalm  J 1 :  24  ;  yi :  14,  /j. 

HOPE  IN  THE  PRESENT  LIFE 
That  which  a  man  ardently  hopes  for  he  strives  to 
reaUze.  If  he  desires  fame,  office  or  wealth  he  will 
seek  to  set  forces  in  motion,  here  and  now,  which  will 
bring  him  that  which  his  soul  covets.  Back  of  every 
man's  striving  there  is  always  some  hope,  an  ideal, 
which  he  endeavours  to  make  a  reality. 

The  man  who  enthusiastically  believes  in  Jesus 
Christ  cherishes  the  hope  that  every  man  may  be 
brought  to  believe  in  his  Lord  and  Master  (Acts 
26 :  27-29).  He  wants  to  see  Christ  not  only  rule  and 
reign  in  the  life  to  come,  but  in  this  present  life. 

The  urgency  of  the  New  Testament  appeals  to  men 
is  to,  at  once,  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  begin  to 
live  the  Christian  life  (Acts  16:  31-33;  2  Corinthians 
6:  i-io;  Galatians  2  :  20).  The  attempt  was  made  by 
the  early  preachers  of  Christianity  to  bring  about  upon 
the  earth  a  new  order  of  things.  They  prayed  and 
laboured  for  the  immediate  conversion  of  men's  souls 

159 


i6o       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

and  the  betterment  of  the  conditions  under  which  men 
hved.  A  new  kingdom  (Matthew  lo :  32-42 ;  Mark 
I  :  14,  15)  was  inaugurated  with  new  ideals  (Matthew 
5  :  1-16),  new  principles  and  new  aspirations,  which 
was  to  supersede  the  old  social  and  political  orders. 
It  was  the  preaching  of  this  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
that  men  owed  their  first  allegiance  to  it  (Acts 
5  :  28,  29),  which  provoked  the  terrible  persecutions 
of  the  first  centuries. 

Christianity  has  much  to  do  with  this  present  life,  it 
has  a  panacea  for  all  its  ills  and  evils  and  it  has  a  cer- 
tain definite  programme  to  carry  out. 

The  Christian  hopes  and  works  for : 

The  Regeneration  of  the  Individual  through  faith  in 
Christ  (John  3:5,  14-21).  This  is  an  inward  change 
wrought  in  the  soul  by  the  grace  of  God.  While  this 
is  a  work  of  God,  the  responsibility  for  it  rests  with 
man.  God  does  not  desire  the  death  of  the  sinner.  By 
the  sending  of  Jesus  Christ  God  has  shown  His  love 
for  man  while  yet  a  sinner.  Every  unregenerate  man 
either  does  not  desire  this  new  life  or  else  feels  that  he 
never  sought  with  all  his  heart  to  have  God  regen- 
erate his  soul  (John  5  :  40;  i  :  4 ;  5  :  24;  Isaiah  i  :  18). 
The  regenerate  man  in  Christ  thinks  and  acts  from  a 
new  basis  (2  Corinthians  5  :  17:  Galatians  6:  15).  It 
is  only  as  the  love  of  a  man's  heart  is  really  changed  and 
centred  upon  right  things  that  he  can  be  depended 
upon  to  walk  in  right  ways.  A  man  may  act  right, 
may  be  honest  and  upright  from  prudential  motives, 
but  if  his  heart  is  evil  the  way  of  the  righteous  will 


The  Christian's  Hope  161 

be  irksome  to  him  and  he  may  depart  from  it  at  any- 
time. The  unmasking  of  the  double  life  of  a  man, 
every  now  and  then,  shows  how  the  heart's  desire  will 
have  its  way  with  a  man  who  does  not  love  God. 
Heart  faith  in  Christ  leads  a  man  to  follow  and  be  like 
Him. 

Hence  we  have  such  a  large  emphasis  placed  upon 
work  for  and  with  the  individual  by  Christ  and  His  dis- 
ciples. Christ  Himself  called  His  apostles  to  Him  one 
by  one  and  He  was  continually  holding  conversations 
of  the  deepest  interest  with  individuals  (John  3 :  1-13  ; 
4 :  6-26). 

The  possibilities  of  the  work  of  the  individual  Chris- 
tian for  the  individual  non-Christian  man  are  too 
largely  left  untried.  If  every  follower  of  Christ 
should  try  to  win  one,  who  did  not  follow  Him,  to 
His  cause  every  year  the  good  effects  of  such  a 
campaign  would  be  felt  not  only  in  the  church,  but  in 
every  department  of  life. 

All  true  reform  work  must  begin  with  the  regenera- 
tion of  the  individual. 

The  Enlightenment  of  the  Social  Conscience. — 
There  is  such  a  thing  as  a  social  conscience.  It  is 
possible  to  say  and  do  things  in  certain  communities 
which  would  not  be  tolerated  in  others.  One  town 
will  not  only  sanction  the  liquor  business  within  its 
boundaries  but  will  resist  all  efforts  to  abolish  it ;  an- 
other town  right  beside  it  will  have  none  of  this 
iniquitous  traffic.  Lawlessness  and  immorality  find 
a  hearty  welcome  in  certain  cities  and  in  others  they 


l62       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

dare  not  show  themselves.  All  this  is  due  not  to  the 
perfection  or  the  imperfection  of  the  laws  or  to  the 
large  number  or  small  number  of  men  upon  the  police 
force,  but  to  an  evil,  an  apathetic  or  an  enlightened 
social  conscience. 

The  progress  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  is  often 
hindered  or  prevented  by  a  hostile  public  sentiment 
(Matthew  13:  58;  17:  20;  10:  14;  Luke  10:  10-12). 
When  Christ  sent  forth  His  twelve  disciples  He 
recognized  the  strong  opposition  which  their  message 
and  mission  would  often  meet  and  said,  "  Behold,  I 
send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves ;  be  ye 
therefore  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves " 
(Matthew  10:  16).  The  disciples  were  taught  to  ex- 
pect social  ostracism  and  private  and  public  persecu- 
tion (Matthew  10:  17-26).  There  were  times  when 
they  were  to  flee  before  the  gathering  storm  of  opposi- 
tion and  there  were  times  in  which  they  were  to 
maintain  their  position  to  the  death,  but  even  if  they 
fled  (Matthew  10 :  23)  they  were  not  to  cease  to  preach 
the  gospel. 

It  is  the  duty  and  the  right  of  Christians  not  only 
to  seek  for  the  regeneration  of  individuals,  but  also  to 
protest  and  work  against  social  and  political  wrongs 
and  to  seek  to  create  and  strengthen  a  strong  public 
Christian  sentiment.  The  Church  of  Christ  should  be 
the  conservator  and  promoter  of  high  moral  ideals  in 
every  city  and  town  where  it  has  a  name  and  place  and 
seek  to  extend  its  good  influence  into  regions  where 
it  has  no  standing. 


The  Christian's  Hope  163 

Better  Conditions  of  Living. — The  Bible  is  always 
upon  the  side  of  the  oppressed  and  down-trodden.  No 
laws  ever  enacted  by  any  nation  ever  made  it  so  easy 
for  the  working  man  as  the  Mosaic  ordinances ;  every 
seventh  day  (Exodus  20 19,  10)  was  a  day  of  rest ; 
there  were  seven  feasts  in  seven  months  which  called 
for  many  other  days  of  rest;  every  seventh  year 
(Leviticus  25  :  2-7)  was  a  rest  year ;  and  every  fiftieth 
year  (Leviticus  25 :  10-17)  was  one  of  rest  and 
restitution.  Christ  everywhere  championed  the  cause 
of  the  poor  and  the  heavy  burdened  (Matthew  9 :  36; 
II  :  28-30;   11:4,  5). 

But  the  Bible  also  clearly  sets  forth  the  fact  that 
little  can  be  done  towards  bettering  even  the  material 
conditions  of  living  when  men's  hearts  are  not  right 
towards  God.  If  a  man  lets  the  spirit  of  avarice 
reign  over  him,  no  matter  how  much  money  he  may 
have  he  will  still  want  more  and  he  will  not  care 
whom  he  oppresses  to  get  it.  If  the  spirit  of  a 
purely  worldly  pleasure  rules  him  his  money  will  go 
into  a  bottomless  pit  and  he  will  not  care  whom  he 
makes  suffer  to  get  more  money  to  gratify  his  in- 
satiable desires. 

Better  material  conditions  of  work  and  living  can 
only  come  from  the  adoption  of  high  moral  and 
spiritual  standards  and  in  advocating  these  the  Chris- 
tian Church  to-day  is  the  truest  friend  of  the  op- 
pressed. 

The  Maintenance  of  Law  and  Order — It  is  not  an 
unusual   thing   for   political  parties  to  elect  men  to 


164       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

offices  of  trust  and  then  to  have  these  same  men  refuse 
to  enforce  the  laws  which  they  have  sworn  to  uphold. 
In  consequence  we  have  all  kinds  of  abuses  and  evils 
growing  up  in  the  body  poUtic,  Too  often  the  polit- 
ical race  is  for  the  honour  and  the  spoils  of  position. 

Outside  the  political  arena  stands  the  Christian 
Church  and  it  can,  if  it  will,  demand  that  clean  and 
upright  men,  whatever  the  issues  of  the  parties  may 
be,  be  placed  in  nomination.  Here  Christians  may 
hold  the  balance  of  power.  If  their  loyalty  is  to 
Christ  first  of  all  they  will  vote  for  no  man  for  any 
office  who  is  known  to  be  of  an  evil  character.  The 
maintenance  of  law  and  order  depends  in  large 
measure,  in  any  community,  upon  the  Christian  senti- 
ment of  that  community. 

The  Turning  of  the  World  to  Christ.— The  Chris- 
tian's hope  is  that  Christ  may  be  Lord  of  and 
dominate  the  individual  and  the  home  life,  the  social, 
the  business  and  the  political  worlds,  as  well  as  the 
ecclesiastical. 

The  worship  of  God  in  Christ  ought  not  to  be  only 
upon  a  particular  day  or  in  a  certain  place,  but  upon 
all  days  and  in  every  place  men  should  lift  up  their 
hearts  to  Him  (John  4:  21-24).  If  He  is  Lord  of 
all  (John  1 :  1-14  ;  14 :  9-1 3)  He  should  be  Lord  of  all ; 
there  is  no  matter  too  small  and  none  too  great  to 
bring  before  Him.  When  Christ  said,  "  Go  ye  there- 
fore and  teach  all  nations  .  .  .  teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you  "  (Matthew  28  :  19,  20)  He  meant  that  His  teach- 


The  Christian's  Hope  165 

ings  should  be  dominant  over  all  the  earth  and  in 
every  department  of  life.  And  for  this  v/e  pray 
"  Thy  Kingdom  come,  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth  as 
it  is  in  heaven  "  (Matthew  6:  10).  It  is  only  as  this 
kingdom  shall  come  in  power  that  we  can  expect  to 
better  the  conditions  under  which  men  live  and 
work. 

HOPE  IN  THE  FUTURE  LIFE 
Christianity  is  not  small  in  its  anticipations,  its  de- 
sires, its  aspirations  and  its  plans. 

It  speaks  of  a  large  hope  for  the  future,  so  large 
that  many  men  fail  to  comprehend  its  magnificence 
(John  1 1 :  23-26 ;  Mark  16:11).  It  declares  that  while 
the  body  may  be  placed  in  the  grave,  the  real  man 
never  dies.  Man  in  all  that  he  thinks  and  does  lives 
with  two  worlds  plainly  in  view,  the  one  that  now  is 
and  the  one  which  is  to  come. 

The  disciples  immediately  after  the  ascension  of 
Christ  began  to  preach  and  teach  the  resurrection 
from  the  dead  (Acts  2:  30-32;  3:  15;  4:  10,  33; 
I  Corinthians  1 5  :  1-8).  They  used  this  fact  of  the 
resurrection  as  a  reason  for  the  belief  in  Christ  as  the 
Saviour  of  men,  a  forsaking  of  sin  and  an  incentive 
to  a  life  of  righteousness.  They  taught,  as  Jesus  Him- 
self did,  that  this  life,  no  matter  how  great  its  oppor- 
tunities, was  but  the  vestibule  to  a  new  and  larger  life 
beyond  the  grave.  It  is  better  to  sacrifice  everything 
in  this  life,  if  necessary,  rather  than  to  miss  the  glory 
of  the  Hfe  to  come  (Matthew  5:  29;    10:  28;   Mark 


i66       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

9 :  47).  No  good  deed  done  in  this  life,  in  the  name 
of  Christ,  can  fail  of  large  reward  in  the  life  to  come 
(Matthew  19:  28,  29;  25  :  34-40).  By  this  emphasis, 
which  was  laid  upon  the  future  life,  the  horizon  of 
thought  and  action  was  marvellously  widened.  Men 
were  taught  no  longer  that  they  were  to  exist  for  a 
few  years  and  then  go  out  forever  into  the  darkness  of 
annihilation,  good  and  bad  alike,  but  that  they  were  to 
live  forever. 

Conscious  Personal  Existence  of  the  soul  after 
death.  This  fact  is  conspicuously  taught  in  the  Gos- 
pels, the  Acts,  the  Epistles  and  Revelation.  In  the 
world  to  come  people  are  not  shades  or  ghosts,  but 
they  have  certain  bodies  (l  Corinthians  15  :  44),  they 
know  themselves  to  be  and  are  known  as  the  same 
persons  who  once  lived  on  the  earth  (Matthew  17: 
2-4;  Luke  24:36-48;  John  20:24-28;  11:25,  26; 
Luke  16:  19-31;  23:42,  43).  Christ  said,  "But  as 
touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  have  ye  not 
read,  that  which  was  spoken  unto  you  by  God  saying, 
I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the 
God  of  Jacob  ?  God  is  not  the  God  of  the  dead,  but 
the  living"  (Matthew  22:  31,  32). 

Eternal  Citizenship  in  heaven.  The  aim  of  Chris- 
tianity is  to  make  men  righteous.  The  abode  of  the 
blessed  hereafter  is  one  wherein  dwells  holiness,  purity 
and  truth. 

There  are  conditions  and  hindrances  to  the  enter- 
ing of  the  abode  of  the  blessed. 

I.     Conditions.     The  great  prerequisite  to  entering 


The  Christian's  Hope  167 

into  the  joy  of  heaven  is  righteousness,  perfect  obedi- 
ence to  the  law  of  God.  But  every  man  of  himself, 
when  he  enters  into  an  honest  self-examination,  feels 
that  he  comes  far  short  of  the  perfect  keeping  of  the 
divine  commands  (i  John  1:8,  9;  Romans  3:  23). 
He  needs  forgiveness  for  past  disobedience,  he  needs 
help  to  lead  a  righteous  life.  Hence  Jesus  Christ,  the 
divine  Son  of  God,  came  that  through  His  life  and 
death  we  might  receive  pardon  for  past  sin  and  help 
to  live  the  righteous  life  (John  3:  16-23).  What  man 
could  not  do  for  himself  Jesus  Christ  does  for  him 
(Romans  3 :  20-26).  The  disciples  of  Christ  were 
rightly  enthusiastic  in  proclaiming  Him  as  the  pro- 
pitiation for  man's  sin  and  belief  in  Him,  with  all  that 
it  implied,  as  the  entrance  gate  into  the  heavenly  life. 
Jesus  said  of  Himself,  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth  and 
the  life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  Me  " 
(John  14 :  6).  "  In  My  Father's  house  are  many  man- 
sions :  if  it  were  not  so  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go 
to  prepare  a  place  for  you.  And  if  I  go  and  prepare 
a  place  for  you,  I  will  come  again  and  receive  you 
unto  Myself;  that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also  " 
(John  14 :  2,  3). 

2.  Hindrances.  The  great  hindrance  to  the  enter- 
ing of  heaven  is  disobedience  of  God,  not  only  acts  of 
disobedience  but  a  state  of  disobedience,  where  the 
soul  of  man  desires  to  have  no  fellowship  with  God  or 
His  righteousness.  There  is  a  disobedience  of  God 
through  carelessness,  through  ignorance  and  through 
willfulness ;  there  is  little  hope  for  a  man  when  he  de- 


l68       Studies  in  the  Life  of  the  Christian 

liberately  turns  his  back  upon  God.  It  is  wonderfully 
shown  in  the  Bible  how  God  has  sought  to  make  Him- 
self known  to  man  and  to  save  him  here  and  hereafter. 
Every  possible  appeal  has  been  made  to  man  to  turn 
to  God.  The  Scriptures  give  no  answer  of  hope  for  a 
happy  hereafter  for  those  who  deliberately  reject  all  of 
God's  invitations  and  pleadings  in  this  world  (Matthew 
25  :  46 ;  Daniel  12:2;  John  5  :  29  ;  Romans  2  :  1-6). 

The  Glory  of  Heaven. — The  New  Testament  writers 
vie  with  each  other  in  striving  to  make  plain  the  glory 
of  heaven.  John  describes  it,  in  a  vision,  as  a  magnifi- 
cent city  of  gold  and  precious  stones,  wherein  can 
come  no  evil  thing  (Revelation,  chapters  21,  22). 
"  And  the  city  had  no  need  of  the  sun,  neither  of  the 
moon,  to  shine  in  it :  for  the  glory  of  God  did  lighten 
it,  and  the  Lamb  is  the  light  thereof.  And  the  nations 
of  them  which  are  saved  shall  walk  in  the  light  of  it : 
and  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  bring  their  honour  and 
glory  into  it"  (Revelation  21:  23,  24).  The  real 
glory  of  heaven,  however,  is  not  in  its  outward  adorn- 
ment or  pageantry,  but  in  the  triumph  of  righteous- 
ness and  the  supreme  reward  of  constancy  to  the  truth 
of  God  (Revelation  7  :  9- 17).  The  holiness  of  God  is 
vindicated  (Revelation  4  :  8,  9).  **  The  tabernacle  of 
God  is  with  men  "  (Revelation  21  :  3,4),  and  every  good 
deed  stands  out  glorified  in  the  clear  white  light  of 
eternity.  Every  saint  in  heaven  will  feel  that  he  has 
the  hundredfold  reward  for  all  the  sacrifices  he  made 
when  upon  the  earth  for  the  kingdom  of  God. 

The  effort  of  the  New  Testament  writers  is  to  make 


The  Christian's  Hope  169 

the  followers  of  Christ  joyfully  do  their  work  here, 
much  of  which  may  be  distasteful  and  difficult.  "  Look- 
ing unto  Jesus  the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith ; 
who  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  Him  endured  the 
cross,  despising  the  shame  and  is  set  down  at  the  right 
hand  of  the  throne  of  God  "  (Hebrews  12:  2).  It  is 
worth  while  to  work  for  a  limited  future  earthly  re- 
ward ;  it  is  much  more  worth  while  to  work  for  a 
heavenly  reward  which  shall  endure  throughout  eter- 
nity. 

QUESTIONS 
What  can  be  said  of  the  Christian's  hope  in  the  present 
life?  What  is  the  regeneration  of  the  individual  through 
faith  in  Christ  ?  What  is  meant  by  the  enlightenment  of 
the  social  conscience  ?  How  can  better  conditions  of  living 
be  secured  through  Christ  ?  How  can  law  and  order  be 
maintained  through  the  advancement  of  Christian  principles  ? 
What  is  the  Christian's  hope  in  turning  the  world  to  Christ  ? 
What  is  the  Christian's  hope  in  the  future  life  ?  What  is 
meant  by  conscious  personal  existence  after  death,  eternal 
citizenship,  the  glory  of  heaven  ? 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  A  merica 


BIBLE  STUDY  BY  PERIODS 


BY 


HENRY  T.   SELL,   D.D. 


4k  S«ries  of  Historical  Bible   Studies   from   Genesis  to 
Revelation 


6  PERIODS,  24  CHAPTERS 


FERiODS 

!C. 

IN  THE 

raclNNINQ 

II. 

TUB 

THEOCKACY 

III. 

THE 

KfNQUOM 

IV. 

THE 

CAPTIVTV 

dUMD  RETURN 

V. 

CHRIST 

ON  EARTH 

VI. 
THE  FIRST 
CHURCHES 


CHAPTERS 

Creation. 

The  Garden  of  Eden. 

The  Flood. 

The  Ancient  World. 

Abraham  and  the  Chosen  Peopla. 

Moses  and  the  Exodus. 

Joshua  and  the  Conquest. 

The  Judges  of  Israel. 

The  Kisa  of  the  Kingdom. 

The  Glory  of  the  Kingdom. 

Division  and  Fall  of  the  Klngfdoa. 

Prophets  of  the  Kingdom. 

The  Captivity. 

The  Return  from  Exile. 

Prophets  of  the  Exile  and  Return. 

Malachi  to  Christ. 

The  Advent  of  the  Messiah. 

The  Life  of  Christ  on  Earth. 

The  Resurrection  and  Asceasion. 

Supremacy  of  Christ. 

The  Churches  in  the  Acts. 

The  Epistles  of  Paul. 

The  General  Epistles. 

The  Message  of  John  to  the  ChurcbMt^ 


Although  the  Bible  is  composed  of  many  books,  and  each 
book  has  a  plan  and  purpose  peculiar  to  itself,  yet  there  Is  a 
general  plan  and  purpose  in  the  Bible  to  which  the  books  are 
subordinate  and  of  which  they  form  parts;  it  is  for  the  pur- 
pose of  sho  wingf  this  general  plan  and  its  parts  that  this  series 
of  Studies  is  written. 

Special  attention  has  been  paid  to  illustrations  and  allu- 
sions from  the  hi&tory  of  other  nations. or  v;bat  may  be  called 
the  political,  the  social  and  religious  environment  of  the^ 
ichosen  people  in  Old  and  New  Testament  times. 

"  Such  a  general  survey  of  the  whole  Bible  is  of  supreaifl 
ralue,  being  fundamental,  indeed,  to  any  valuable  study  of  S 
tortion."— Smm</(2;'  School  Times. 


285  Pages,  12ino 


FOURTH  COURSE 


Bible  Study  by  Doctrines  \ 

By  REV.  HENRY  T.  SELL,  D.  D.  j 


Sixth  Thousaad 
Zi  CHAPTERS 


1.  The  Divine  Plan. 

2.  The  Being  of  God. 

3.  The  Attributes  of  God. 

4.  The  Trinity. 

5.  The  Deity  of  Christ. 

6.  The  Holy  Spirit. 

7.  Creation. 

8.  Providence. 

9.  Origin  and  Nature  of  Man. 

10.  The  Law  of  God. 

11.  Sin  and  its  Consequences. 

12.  The  Covenants. 

13.  The  Threefold  Office  of  Christ. 

14.  The  Miracles  of  Christ. 

15.  The  Humiliation  and  Exaltation  of  Chrltt 

16.  Faith. 

17.  Regeneration. 

18.  Justification. 

19.  Sanctification. 
to.  The  Scriptures. 

21.  Prayer. 

22.  The  Early  Church. 

23.  The  Future  State  of  the  SodL 
34.  The  Kingdom  of  God. 


Brief  Studies  of  Great  Doctrines.  The  design  of  these 
lessons  is  to  give  a  summary  of  the  leading  Bible  doctrines. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  seek  after  new  or  novel  con* 
structions  of  the  subjects  treated,  or  to  emphasize  points  of 
difference,  but  rather  to  show  upon  how  many  fundamental 
things  all  Christians  are  united.  The  standard  of  authoritj 
is  the  Bible,  and  the  final  appeal  is  always  to  its  pages. 


152  Pages 


BIBLE  STUDY  BY  BOOKS 

BY 
HENRY  T.   SELL,   D.D. 


New  Edition,  Revised,  with  Intreductory  Chapter  on   Th« 

Making  of  the  Bible. 


52  CHAPTERS,  ElVBRACING  THE  66  BCX)K3 
IN  THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTAMENT 

Ah  abridged  Analysis  of  the  first  five  Chapters  is  here  given 

1.  GENESIS:  The  Book  of  Beginntnes.  Orispn  of  the 
World,  Man,  Sin,  Salvation.  Revelations  of  God  as  Cre- 
ator,Priscrver.Lavvgiver,  Judge  and  Merciful  Sovereupi. 
Principal  Persons,  Leading  Events,  Purpose,  Plaa,  Re- 
ligious and  Scientific  Value.  Analysis:  The  Tea  Divi- 
sions. 

•.  BX0DU5:  The  Haking  of  a  Nation.  Contents,  Purpose- 
Scope,  the  Two  Great  Divisions,  Narrative  and  Legts. 
lattve,  the  Moral,  Ceremonial  and  Civil  Laws,  Historieai 
Value.  Analysis:  The  Nation,  I.  Called,  II.  Constituted, 
III,  Consecrated. 

B.  UBVITICUS:  The  Qovernment  of  the  Nation.  CoQoec- 
tioa  of  Leviticus  with  Exodus,  Contents,  Purpose,  The 
Law  of  Sacrifices,  TheForm  ana  Significance.  Analysis? 
I.  Fundamental  Laws  of  Sacrifice,  Purification  and 
Atonement!  II.  The  Law  of  Holiness;  III.  The  Caxa* 
DiQtation  of  Vows  ana  Tithes. 

4.  NUAlBBItS:  The  Training  of  the  Nation.  Conteats. 
Relation  to  Leviticus,  Object  and  Acconiplishment  ol 
the  object  in  the  Training  of  the  Nation,  Advantages  of 
tke  Desert  Wandering,  Manner  of  the  Desert  Life. 
Analysis:  I.  The  Preparation  at  Sinai;  II.  The  March, 
SJB^aad  Moab;  III.  The  Victory,  the  Plain  of  Moab. 

0.  DBuTERONOMV:  The  Review  Book.  Situation  of  the 
Tribes,  Review  of  the  Law  and  History  of  Israel,  Neces- 
sity for  this  Review,  Contents,  Purpose.  Analysis:  The 
Three  Addresses  of  Moses,  I.  Remembrance  of  God's 
Care;  II.  Exposition  of  the  Law;  III.  Renewal  of  the 
Covenant. 


TMs  Series  of  Studies  "Aims  to  set  forth  clearly  the  purpose, 
contents  and  analysis  of  each  book  and  to  show  its  rela- 
tive place  amon»  the  other  books,  especially  its  share  in 
revealing  divine  truth." 

"It  presents  one  of  the  best  possible  plans  of  Bible 

g|ady,that  of  analysis  and  ma;stery  of  a  beok  as  a  whole." 

ait  book  has  been  translated  into  the  Spanish  laogaag* 

273  Pages,  t2mo 


atod 
Thii 


mBLE    STUDIES    IN    THE    Lfft 
OF   CHRIST 

BY 
HENRY  T.  SELL,  D.D. 


EIGHT   CHAPTERS 
CoveriAg  the  Eight  Periods  of  Christ's  MiniM>|r 


1.  The  Early  Years  of  Jesus. 

C.  The  Immediate  Preparation. 

9.  Public  Ministry — First  Year. 

4.  Public  Ministry — Second  Year. 

6.  Public  Ministry— Third  Year. 

6.  Public  Ministry— Last  Four  Months. 

7.  Passion  Week. 

8.  The  Resurrection. 


This  book  is  practical,  historical  and  constructive  and 
specially  suited  for  class  work.  There  is  something  more 
than  a  bare  outline.  The  setting  and  background  of  the 
discourses,  parables  and  miracles  is  given.  Places  are 
graphically  described.  The  course  of  events,  so  far  as  known, 
from  the  beginning  of  Christ's  life  to  the  close  is  marked  out. 
The  great  divisions  of  the  ministry  are  noted.  All  is  done  in 
a  brief,  ccmcise  and  interesting  way. 


160  Pages,  12aie. 


BIBLE    STUDIES    IN    THE   LIFB 
OF    PAUL 

BY 
HENRY  T.  SELL,  D.D. 


HisHtrical  and  Constructiv* 

TEN  CHAPTERS 
PkffI  I*  Pa«rs  Pfcparatioa 


b   BarlyLife. 
t>    CoBversion. 


Paft  Q>  Paol't  lommtf 

i.    First  Missionary  Journey. 
4*    Second  Missionary  Journey. 
5>  Tbird  Missionary  Journey. 
6.   Jerusalem  to  Rome. 

Part  m>  Paul's  Writinfi 

^   Tfae  Foture  of  Christ's  Kingdom. 

8.  The  Old  Faiths  aai.  the  New. 

9.  The  Supremacy  of  Christ. 
la    Pastorial  and  Personal. 

Thte  Book  Is  nniform  with  the  author's  Bible  Studies  la 
The  Life  of  Christ,  and  aims  to  show  in  a  concise  and 
scbelarly  way  how  the  great  Apostle  carried  the  gos- 
pel to  a  Gentile  world.  The  emphasis  is  placed  npoa 
the  main  facts  of  Paul's  life  and  the  great  doctrtnes 
which  he  taught  in  his  Epistles.  There  are  two  maps 
n^oa  which  are  traced  his  journeys.  An  analysis  of 
tbtt  lesson  precedes  and  questions  for  class  work  fol* 
lew  each  chapter. 

"  We  do  not  know  of  another  volume  on  this  subject  s« 
fuU  of  information,  and  so  suggestive  in  its  arrangemeuti 
md  ^visions."—  The  Christian  News,  Glasgow. 


144  Page.  IZbo. 


STUDIES   IN   EARLY    CHURCH 
HISTORY 

BY 
HENRY  T.   SELL,  D.D. 


TEN  CHAPTERS 

L    Thk  Church  in  Jerusalem. 
3.    The  Church  in  Antioch. 

S.    The  Church  in  the  Provinces. 
4.    The  Church  in  Rome. 

5.    The  Church  in  the  Catacomb*' 
6.    The  Church  in  Worship. 

7.    The  Church  in  the  Books. 

8.    The  Church  in  Controversy. 

9.    The  Church  in  Persecution. 
10.    The  Church  in  Victory. 

THE  PERIOD  of  which  these  studies  treat  extends 
from  the  time  of  Christ  to  the  reign  of  Constantine,  the 
first  Christian  Roman  Emperor.  Ithas  been  called  "  Tha 
Heroic  Age  of  the  Church."  It  introduces  us  into  the 
immediate  presence  of  the  builders  of  the  Church.  It  was 
in  these  years  that  the  Christian  doctrines  were  formu- 
lated, the  principles  set  forth,  the  New  Testament  books 
written,  and  the  fiery  persecutions  endured.  In  the 
enthusiasm  and  freshness  of  their  faith  the  early  converts 
dared  all  things;  no  tasks  were  too  hard,  no  hardships  to» 

freat,  no  tortures  too  painful  if  called  for  in  the  name  oi 
esus  Christ,  their  Loid  and  Saviour. 

THIS  BOOK  shows  how  the  doctrines  and  frinciples  of 
the  Christian  faith  were  worked  out  in  actual  life  in  the  early 
centuries.  There  is  too  little  attention  paid  to  thi"  ^re^t 
periad     It  will  well  repay  the  most  diligent  study. 


162  Pages,  l2mo. 


Princeton  Theoloqical .Seminar  Libraries 


1    1012  01208  0737 


Date  Due 

f    "i  I' 

■:■:■    1   0    - 

yi'i 

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(|) 

